From time to time most people probably wonder what their future holds. They may wonder when things will change and what hope there is for the improvements they wish for. This is especially so for people who don’t like their situation and who desperately wish for things to improve. Sadly, however, people are more trapped in their present circumstances than they might want.
My prediction is that the future for most people is filled with ‘More of the Same’.
More of the same frustrations.
More of the same limitations.
More of the same fears and anxieties.
More of the same social context.
More of the same relationship issues.
More of the Same!
Before you get too depressed about that, let me throw in this disclaimer. ‘More of the Same’ is not God’s plan. God provides for wonderful and radical transformation on an ongoing basis, with our lives moving forward from one degree of glory to another.
Since mid last century (to the best of my knowledge) Christians have delighted in a bright chorus titled ‘From Glory to Glory He’s Changing Me’. I recall singing this chorus with thousands of others, rejoicing in God’s power to make wonderful difference in our lives.
You can find links to the chorus online – including: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpJ4u0QbQwc
That chorus is based on the writing of Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2Corinthians 3:18
So don’t despair as I continue talking about the problem, since there is a wonderful alternative through Christ. However, let me get back to discussing the problem of being trapped in our current reality.
One reason why we are likely to suffer ‘More of the Same’ is that we get into ruts in life, doing the same things over and over again, reacting the same way, following the same instincts, even when they don’t work.
It is often noted that one definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome’. What you do will tend to lead to the same outcomes each time you do it. So if the outcome you get is not what you want, why in the world do you keep doing it? Probably because you are in a rut in your thinking and in your personality.
I spoke recently with a wife who is unhappy about her husband’s secrecy. She wants to know more about his movements and what he does with his money. When she can she raises these questions, which he refuses to answer. He often stays away for long periods, without ever explaining where he has been or what he was doing. Even though her past interrogations didn’t produce any result, guess what she feels compelled to do the next time she has opportunity. She is so desperate to get an answer she will keep asking questions, even though they only drive a deeper wedge between her and her husband.
That kind of instinctive behaviour is toxic and it keeps bringing about the same results.
Some of you are likely distracted by that example, thinking the wife deserves an answer and we shouldn’t take the husband’s side. But I am not taking anyone’s side. I am simply pointing out that her strategy isn’t working. She would be so much better off if she could find a strategy that worked, rather than persisting with what has never worked yet.
She keeps doing the same thing and expecting a different result! That’s not wisdom!
What about you? Do you persist in doing the same things, hoping for a different result? If things aren’t working then don’t keep flogging a dead horse. It isn’t going to come back to life and win the race.
Women tend toward nagging, to make things change. Men tend to shut down, or to become domineering. Youth can become sullen. Some become workaholics, while others turn to various forms of self-medication. Some resort to ‘retail therapy’ while others go looking for new relationships. Whatever pattern people have chosen tends to be their go-to option over and over again, and it keeps giving them the same unhappy results each time.
So their future is filled with ‘More of the Same’.
Here is a tell-tale sign that you are stuck. If you had the solution to your situation you would have used it already!
If you are still stuck, it’s because you don’t have the key or the workable strategy to move forward. So you will keep doing the only things you can, things that don’t work and never worked in the past. If you had a better option you wouldn’t be where you are.
At this point people should realise a couple of key insights.
Firstly, you can’t save yourself. If you could you would have done it already. Whatever is trapping you is something that has to be overcome by help from outside yourself. The most powerful help comes from the Lord.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1,2
Your key is to put your faith in the Lord and to throw all of your problems onto Him.
“Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7
When you make Jesus your Saviour, asking God to forgive your sins and make you His child, you are not only forgiven and born again, but you become God’s child. As God’s child He can take responsibility for your problems. Like a caring dad who steps in to sort out a mess made by the child, God takes on that roll and will own your issues and fix them.
You can give up doing the same old ‘same-old’. You can stop trying to invent a new solution, and let God bring His amazing power and grace into your situation.
However, you might well find that you still tend to pick up the problem and fuss over it, even going back to the same things that never worked before. This is because we are people of habit, and we are programmed at some fairly deep levels.
Your repeated processes, those things that never worked and yet you still do, come out of things like fear, pride, shame, grief, bitterness, anger, jealousy, resentment and other deeply rooted issues in your life.
So you need more than just to give your problems to God. You need to allow God to start changing you deep within, from one degree of glory to another. You have given place to sin and to selfishness, pride, anger and lust, and you have been bitten by hurt, shame, scorn, defeat, anger, bitterness, and the like. No matter how much you determine to change, you can’t change yourself. You need the work of the Holy Spirit in your life to set you free, maybe even issue by issue, of the multi-threaded patterns woven into your life.
However, don’t despair. This is what God delights to do. The Word of God, the Blood of Christ, the Spirit of God, God’s Truth, God’s Love, and much much more, are in place to work God’s works in your life, to transform you on an ongoing basis.
So cry out to the Lord, and keep pressing in to Him. Ask Him to connect you with all the wonderful fountains of His grace (the wells of salvation and the streams in the desert) that He has prepared to ensure your freedom.
And as you do, look forward to becoming free from More of the Same.
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