“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” 

 Romans 12:2

DEVOTION

Before I began working in vocational ministry, I was a public school teacher, and I kind of ended up teaching by accident. My husband, Michael, was working for an accounting firm which meant he traveled Monday through Friday. I was at home with our infant daughter, Emma, and needed to work in a profession that felt conducive to flying solo during the weekdays. My mom suggested teaching, so I got certified and began teaching. What felt like a half-baked plan at the time ended up being a passion for me. I loved teaching, but the start was really hard. 

Just to give you a little background on me, I was diagnosed with ADD which for me means that I am a bit like an absent-minded professor. I can spend hours focused on something I am intensely interested in and procrastinate things I am less excited about, like administrative tasks. I’m definitely very right-brained, so I loved lesson planning, creating hands-on activities and preparing presentations and projects. Grading the endless stacks of papers and entering grades into the computer, not so much. But we all know as teachers, the job requires both creativity and administrative skills to be successful. 

So during my first year of teaching, here’s what I would do. I would procrastinate grading papers for weeks, spending all of my out-of-class time working on the things I enjoyed and ignoring the less desirable responsibilities. Then, I would panic and end up staying up into the wee hours of the night just to finish. Thus, the cycle began. I would tell myself I was going to stay on top of grading and data entry … I would do ok for a couple of days, then fall off the wagon and find myself in the same position over and over again. At some point, I had to get real with myself and realize that if I was going to be a successful teacher, I had to change—and over time, I did. In fact, I’m confident God used my years as a teacher to teach me to depend on him and change some patterns of behavior that needed to change. 

But changing is hard. Sometimes in life, we can feel stuck in a pattern of living, thinking, behaving, or relating to others, and we feel like we have no way out of it. We want to change, but we just can’t. Procrastinating the administrative parts of my job is just one example of this in my life. I know this issue of wanting to change but being unable to actually do the changing is a situation that is not unique to me. 

In fact, there is someone whose story is found in the pages of the New Testament who shares the struggle. Paul is a guy who encounters Jesus in the middle of his mission to persecute early Christians, experiences transformation and spends the rest of his life on a mission to encourage others to follow Jesus. He travels on multiple missionary journeys, suffers as a result of his preaching and teaching, and ultimately is martyred all for the sake of Christ. Paul is a superstar of the early church. He actually authored nearly a quarter of the New Testament. Paul, who is a pillar of faith, actually writes in his letter to the Romans of his own personal struggle. Here’s what he says:

“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power* within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” - Romans 7:21-25

Everyone who has chosen to follow Jesus has the spirit of Christ living in them. Here’s what Paul says just a few verses later.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power* of the life-giving Spirit has freed you* from the power of sin that leads to death.” - Romans 8:1-2

Here’s the good news: Your current state of being does not control your future state of being. If there are places in your heart or life that you want to experience change, don’t settle for what you can do in your own strength when God can do so much more in you. 

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” - Romans 12:2

”This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17

God can and will transform you. I know so much transformation happened in me during the 10 years I spent as a teacher. 

Changing direction is hard, but with God’s help through his Spirit living in you … you can find the strength necessary to acknowledge what you struggle with and to be made well. 

Jill Poe-Thompson 

jpoethompson@crossings.church

Jill Poe-Thompson is the Connections Pastor at Crossings Edmond.

RESOURCES

• "Go" Sermon 
• "Do Not Worry" sermon
• Live By Faith Crossings Worship