Lasting Change: Have you fallen into this feel-good trap? (Part 1)

Last week, I dragged our treadmill out from its storage corner in the basement and I got on it. We’ve had it since 2013 and it was approximately the 20th time I’ve run on it. As I coaxed myself into running, I thought about how having something is not the same thing as using it.

I like the idea of having a treadmill more than I actually like running on it. Just knowing it’s in the basement makes me feel like a healthier person. But I don’t like using it that much. I prefer to cover distance and enjoy changing scenery when I run. But because I own a treadmill, I could go for a run anytime I want to including when outdoor conditions are less than favourable. And I like that idea.

But it doesn’t make me healthier until I get on it and actually start moving. Having it feels good; using it does good.

This same kind of denial can creep into our spiritual lives. When it comes to the Word, remember our end goal:

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27, CSB)

“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)

Our goal isn’t to have or hear, but to act.

Don’t just have a treadmill, use it. Don’t just hear the Word of God, act on it. If we don’t, we are deceiving ourselves.

The Word I sense God impressing on me for 2021 is intentional. I love having a word of the year and the idea that this year could be more intentional than before. I love telling people my Word of the year and hearing about theirs. The goal isn’t to just have it, but to pray intentionally, work intentionally and love intentionally.

Let’s believe, pray and live into truth has spoken to us about for this year.

What’s your word of the year?