05/07/2025
Raul’s Reflections
What Helps Us Change?
Let’s be real: changing is hard.
But staying the same, when we’re stuck in sin, is even harder in the long run.
So what helps us really change?
The Bible gives us 4 powerful reasons people change.
These are like fuel in our tank to help us keep going when we want to quit.
🔥 Pain
💗 Love
✝️ Grace
🌅 Heaven (Rewards)
Each one is like a tool in God’s toolbox to rebuild a broken life.
🔥 1. Pain: When Hurt Becomes Your Teacher
Pain is a wake-up call.
It’s God’s megaphone telling us, “Something needs to change.”
“Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.”—Genesis 37:26-27 NIV
Think about Judah. He helped sell his brother Joseph into slavery.
Years later, when his younger brother Benjamin was in danger, Judah begged to take his place. Why?
Because he remembered how much pain he caused his dad the first time.
Pain opened his heart and made him care.
Because: “Pain is a mirror. When you look into it, you can clearly see what needs to be fixed.”
We often only stop sinning when we see how much it’s hurting others.
Sin, like lying, po*******hy, sleeping around, or other forms of selfishness—hurts the people we love.
It breaks trust with our spouse, disappoints our parents, discourages our church family, and most of all… it breaks God’s heart.
🎯So ask yourself: Is a few seconds of pleasure worth years of pain?
When you feel the pain you’ve caused, let it push you to make a change.
💖 2. Love: When Caring Makes You Courageous
“After [Jacob] had sent his family across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”—Genesis 32:23-4, 26 NIV
Judah’s dad, Jacob, wrestled with an angel all night.
He wouldn’t stop fighting until God gave him a blessing. Why?
Because he was scared his brother Esau was coming to kill his family.
So Jacob wrestled because he loved.
Jacob fought with everything he had because he wanted to protect the people he cared about.
That’s what we need in the fight against sin.
We have to care enough to wrestle in prayer.
To not give up. To keep going until God helps us win.
🎯 Because, real change comes when we love deeply—God, our family, our church.
So, if you love, you’ll fight.
If you care, you’ll change.
✝️ 3. Grace: When a Gift Changes Your Heart
Grace means getting a gift you didn’t earn.
God gave us His Son to die for our sins.
That’s grace. We didn’t deserve it. We couldn’t earn it. But He gave it anyway.
Look at what Titus 2:11-12 says:
“For the grace of God …teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”
Why does grace help us stop sinning?
Because when someone gives you something really valuable, your heart changes.
You stop sinning, not out of fear—but out of gratitude.
🎯 Gratitude turns “I have to change” into “I want to change.”
Grace reminds us that Jesus didn’t die for us to keep doing what killed Him.
Because grace isn’t permission to sin, it’s power to change.”
🌅 4. Heaven: When You Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Sometimes we forget the end goal—Heaven.
We get so busy doing stuff, even church stuff, that we forget where we’re going.
But we need to remember: Not to run fast—but to run home.
We read, pray, share our faith, and fight for purity, why?
Because we want to be with God forever. And we want others to come too.
Heaven is the finish line. The crown. The treasure.
When you remember Heaven, you stop playing with sin.
You stop asking, “What can I get away with?” and start asking, “What will get me home?”
1 John 3:3 says:
“All who hope to see Jesus purify themselves, just as He is pure.”
🎯 So don’t trade eternity in Heaven for only a moment of comfort.
Final Thoughts: What Will Move You?
Change takes motivation. It doesn’t happen by accident.
Here’s a simple way to remember to use the tools God has given us:
🔥Pain - Wakes you up
💖Love - Gives you strength
✝️Grace - Fills you with gratitude
🌅Heaven - Keeps you focused
Let God use whatever motivation you need today to change the way you think.
Because, if you don’t change your mind, you’ll never change your life.
So, whether it’s:
Pain that opens your eyes,
Love that makes you strong,
Grace that softens your heart, or
Heaven that keeps you focused…
It’s time to:
Get up.
Start fresh.
And wrestle with God, until he blesses you.
But don’t give up until you’re free!
