There are two forces of change that motivate us each day. The first force is a desire to move away from pain. If I held a burning flame under your hand, you would immediately jerk away. It is a natural instinct to move away from pain. This fear of pain also motivates us to seek short-term pleasures, even if they bring with them negative long-term consequences. Drugs, alcohol and other harmful behaviors are prevalent in our society because people want to quickly move away from the pain in their lives. These negative addictions are a way of escape.
The second motivating force is a desire to move toward gain or pleasure. If you dangle a carrot in front of a rabbit, the rabbit will lunge for that carrot, and humans are no different. When a child is told, “Clean your room and you can have a treat,” he jumps right to it. We exercise so we can eat delicious food. We work so we can receive a paycheck (gain) and so we don’t end up on the streets (pain).
I want you to understand that everything you do is either motivated by a desire to move away from pain or toward gain.
Two Forces of Change
Repentance
Just as there are two instinctual forces in us (the force to move toward and the force to move away), the Holy Spirit has his own to two forces He uses to motivate us to change. The first is the sorrow that leads to repentance. Have you ever been at a place in your life where you said, “I’ve had it! I’m tired of getting kicked around and being beat up. I’m tired of my life running this way. That’s enough!” That is usually the Holy Spirit working in you to produce a sorrow that leads to repentance. He is helping you become sorry for letting the circumstances of life push you around so that you will change.
There is nothing in existence that can stop the human will when it says, “I’ve had it!” When you reach that point and decide to let God work through your sorrow, you will experience change. You will begin moving away from pain.
The Holy Spirit is an agent of God to teach us to change. There is not a God-fearing, Bible-believing Christian anywhere who would deny that the Holy Spirit is the teacher of the Church. Well, what is the Church? The Church is you and me, so the Holy Spirit is teaching us. He is showing us things about Jesus so we can become more Christ-like. We also need to let Him show us the beliefs that are holding us back from change.
Hope
The second force that the Holy Spirit uses to help us change is the hope that leads to faith. Romans 15:13 says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The opposite of sorrow is joy. The Holy Spirit not only tells us what to move away from—those things that bring us sorrow—He gives us the ability to move toward the good things in life as well— those things that bring us joy!
When it comes to change, most of us say, “I want a change in my life. God, please give me change in my life.” Why do we keep asking God for change? Are we powerless? No! The Holy Spirit lives inside of us, giving us the power to change those things in our life we decide need to change.
Hope that leads you to faith gives you something to do, and something to aim for. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God is “a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God can bring you into positive areas of change that you never dreamed were possible, so all you have to do is open yourself up to that change.
We can change, and we can change now. We are not limited to the world’s timing, and we have the forces of the Holy Spirit working in us. If we understand the forces of repentance and hope, we can determine to cooperate with them. Then permanent change will come.
If you are ready for change, I encourage you to come to my annual WealthBuilders Conference! It is only TWO WEEKS away, and tickets are almost sold out! To get more information, visit my website here. If you are ready to purchase your tickets and “Activate your Vision”, then click here! I can’t wait to see you all there.