Heavenly Father, Guide me and grant me wisdom so my heart will be transformed.
Proverbs 27:19 says, “As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”
Have you ever struggled with stubborn sin in your life and become discouraged because you just couldn’t seem to overcome it? I have. There was a time when I desperately wanted to change some things the Lord had revealed to me about myself. It just seemed, however, that the more I thought about them and prayed about them, the worse they became. Then the Lord revealed to me that I wasn’t changing because I was focusing on the problem, not on Him.
There’s a principal I learned about displacement and replacement. It had to do with self-esteem. Picture a bucket filled with water. The water represents the good things about you. Then, as people chip away at your self-esteem by saying negative things, the negatives are like pebbles. When you drop a pebble in the bucket, the water, your good qualities, splashes over the edge and out of your bucket.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.“
The Bible also says in Ephesians 4:22-23,
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
So the question is, “How does this transformation take place?” We find the answer in Philippians 4:8,
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
It is the Word of God that renews our mind! In my bucket, I look at the water as my old self, the sin I want to remove from my life. The pebbles are God’s Word. So each time I focus on God’s Word, His pebbles are dropped in my bucket. It is God’s Word which displaces the sin in my life and replaces it with His righteousness and holiness.
Prayer: My most gracious and holy Father, I come to you today with stubborn sin in my life for which I ask your forgiveness. Keep me focused on your Word, Lord, that through your power my old self will vanish and your righteousness and holiness will reign in my heart and actions. Guide me and grant me wisdom so my heart will be transformed to one which reflects you, O Lord. Praise and glory and honor be to you throughout eternity. Amen.
by Sherry Yarger
Used by Permission
Further Reading
• Pressing the Reset Button
• Stepping Into a Personal Revival