how does one go about seeking change..?

Question

how does one go about seeking change from a lifestyle they have engaged so willingly in for an extended period of time? it wasn't always this way, let me ensure you, i once experienced the most amazing of things. however, i cannot imagine life any other way at this point in time. change, salvation, and contentness has become an abstraction. my desire for something so much more lingers, however is it truly strong enough to evoke an alteration of my ways? of my life?

at times, i feel satisified with where i am, as if i could live here for the rest of my life and that would be okay, but other times i feel my soul screaming that if i don't make a u-turn the road is going to take me someplace miserable. someplace i once refuted, a place i swore i would never encounter in my days. should one block out those occasional, but revenant, thoughts that this path may be heading toward the opposite direction? or should one evaluate their own self and understand the need for change? perhaps that may be the solution, but surely not the easy one. to live a life of doubt, even if it may be hidden in the smallest part of ones soul, only big enough to reveal itself episodically, should one continue to pursue such a questionable and doubtful course of existence?

at one time, if this question were posed to me, i would have a sure and steadfast answer. now, however, my mind wanders and thoughts that were once clear to me have become blurred abstractions that i am no longer able to distinguish. what truly induces such changes in the human mind and in the human heart? why have i become indistinct in my desires when there was a point in time when i felt that such vagueness and impreciseness was completely behind me. i had all of the answers regarding my past, present and future being. i understood and accepted the stipulation for all of my past experiences, i understood who i was now, and perhaps most importantly, i understood where i was going. now, conversely, i have no insight on the preceding questions.

perhaps there is a conclusion to be drawn here. perhaps the certainties and assurances that we are familiar with are, in contrast, false apparitions and illusions used by the brain to convince oneself that everything will be alright. perhaps there are no certainties in life. conveivably those who feel they have everything figured out will, in do time, come to the realization that sureness is just the minds way of keeping things simple, the minds way of refusing to accept change and an erroneous lifestyle. i suppose that that time has come for me, and i must now acknowledge that change is the only constant during this crazy, mixed up course of being which we must all endure until our time has come. Confidence, my friend, is a misleading notion, a fallacy, and to posses such a trait is both foolish and blinding for the mind, soul, and body.

someone please send me the answer to life and the answer as to how to achieve the most minute, yet vivid and mesmerizing, desires of the human heart without falsifying the way in which this world truly works.

to answer ka'iwi:

my name is janine and i'm a 16 year old girl from new york.

Answer 1

Honestly, the only way I found TRUE change was when I got sick enough with the way I was living, and REALLY and truly gave God room in my heart. I got on my knees, and admitted that I DIDN'T have the answers, and really DIDN'T have control, and I SURELY didn't have control over my destiny. When I got HONEST with GOD, business picked up between us!

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14

Jeremiah Chapter 29

God Bless you

Email me if you'd like to talk further.

Answer 2

Well, noticing those things is probably the first step towards seeking change. If you do feel you want to change - if, as you say, your soul is screaming out to turn around, I would say listen to it and find an environment that would encourage such a change. It won't be easy. It never is. But it will be worth it. And I don't believe that confidence is misleading when done right. I'm not confident in myself; I know I'll fail. I'm confident instead in the One who never fails and who performed the miracles that my loved ones and I have seen and experienced.

Answer 3

we fear the unknown because we don't want to lose whatever we have. it's only when most people are pushed to their limits do they think about venturing into the unknown. this is the reason why there are so few visionaries, great leaders and scientists because ordinary humans have either failed to sacrifice an aspect of their llife or they fear the unknown. that unknown could be a models of thought, a different way of life, a dramatic political sh ift etc. this is why throughout human history change has been due to mostly climate, invasions, deteriorating economy , disease. hence the phrase necessity if the mother of all inventions. ( dart, someone already used this phrase) human history serves as the best answer because we fear the unknown still we accept change. most change therefore occurs because humans are "forced" to adapt.

Answer 4

I disagree that confidence is a negative. Without confidence we would still be sitting by a fire at the mouth of our cave wearing animal skins and dying at 25. Don't worry about getting it wrong.
Einstein and Christ probably both had their bad-hair days.

The meaning of life is discovery, and that the more we think we know, the less we actually know. The natural outcome of discovery is developing our highest potential consistent with a deep respect for the planet and all its life forms.

Answer 5

Sometimes we don't know the question until we have the answer. Sounds like you've already started. All I can add is walk a path that you can see the truth in, not some one Else's.

Answer 6

To continue to suppress God in your life leads you to a time when God gives you up to your desires. The Holy Spirit calls you to draw closer to Jesus. One day His voice will be silent and there will be no hope.

Answer 7

Change like you take off your clothes and put them back on, you take them off and put them on piece by piece and that is how change works.

Answer 8

Seek the Lord while He may be found
Call on Him while He is near
Let the wicked forsake His way
and the unrighteous man his thoughts
Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

The basic problem is that people do not take God seriously. Therefore, they do not take sin seriously. To them, sin is just a social blemish or a moral hiccup. So if they think about salvation at all, it is always in terms of what they can do, by moral or religious effort, to improve their life. That is what the Bible calls trying to obtain 'salvation by works.'

MAN'S WAY DOES NOT WORK!
It seems so reasonable and plausible. If I have a problem with sin, I must pull myself together, turn over a new leaf and change my ways. It sounds good, but it does not work. Our problem lies in our fallen nature-what we are-and no amount of tinkering with morality or religion can change that nature.

YOUR GREATEST NEED
So it is with spiritual blindness. Spiritual reality is there, but you cannot comprehend it. Perhaps even as you read this, this talk of God, sin, salvation, eternity, and so on, makes no sense to you.

Your great need, therefore, is for spiritual sight, for God to open your eyes so that you can see with your mind and trust with your heart.

JESUS IS THE WAY
Jesus is no ordinary person. He is God become man. He left heaven tos eek and save the lost. God loved you so much that He sent Jesus to be your substitute, to take our punishment and to die instead of us, so that 'To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Jesus died an agonizing death on a cross, but his greatest suffering did not lie in the physical pain, but in the condemnation he endured from God the Father, as he bore all the sins of his people on the cross. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus has paid the debt of sin in full. The Bible says that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

You come to him realising that you are guilty and that you do not deserve pardon. But pardon is what you need. To 'come' means to believe in Jesus as God's only answer to deal with your sin and to provide pardon for guilty sinners. It means to trust what he did on your behalf on the cross and to look to him alone for forgiveness and salvation.

If you are serious about becoming a Christian there are few things you need to understand.
Its not like joining a club, neighter is it the same as taking up a new interest or hobby. Your desire to be a Christian has to become an overwhelming necessity. Such a desire will not be created by a casual interest, but only by God working in your heart and mind.

GOD MUST CHANGE YOU
In the Bible, we are told that Christians are God's workmanship. Each Christian is a product of an extraordinary work of the Spirit of Almighty God.

SEEK GOD WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME

How? God can and must be 'found'. Looking for God is the most important thing that you will ever do. He is near.

YOU MUST REPENT
Repenting means that you accept that your ways are evil in the sight of God. It means acknowledging that you stand condemned before a holy God and that you need to turn to Him as the only way. It means turning away from your sin and rejection fo God. It is a complete change of life and direction. Only God can help you do this. The Bible calls it being born again.

Turn to God in the expectation that He will forgive and receive you. This you do by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who justifies the ungodly through his death and resurrection. You must believe that God exists, that He sent His Son to die for your sins and that He can and will save you, if you turn to Him in repentance and faith. When you turn to God, you can rely on what the Lord Jesus has said, that 'All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.'

you are also welcome to go to http://yahoogroups.com/group/seeking_reality

Here is a prayer to lead you to Christ. If you pray this prayer sincerely, please let me know

Lord Jesus, I am really sorry that I have sinned against You. I know I am guilty and deserve your punishment for my sins. But thank You that Jesus died on the cross in my place and took my punishment there. Thank You that He rose again and lives today. Please help me now to turn from my sins, and please forgive me, cleanse me from my sins, and come and save me and take control of my life as my Lord.

God heard my prayer - He will also hear yours.

Answer 9

AHHH!! I want to know too!!!

Answer 10

who are you really?........................