Courage to Change 
Ponder: The difficulty and the necessity of changing.
Scripture: “And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14, NKJV).
Put yourself in his shoes. He was smart, well-educated, and on his way to a brilliant career. He had worked hard to get ahead. He was taking giant steps up the ladder of success. And he sincerely believed he was right with God.
Then, suddenly, someone knocked the props out from under him. He ended up lying on the ground, blind and helpless. In only a short time, he learned that all the effort he had put forth had been channeled in the wrong direction.
There were several alternatives Saul of Tarsus (better-known to us as the apostle Paul) could have chosen. He could have said: “My father was a Jew, and my grandfather, and my great-grandfather too. And I’ll be a Jew until the day I die!” Or, he could have decided that he had simply put in too much work, and was too close to the top, to change courses now.
Happily, the Bible tells us that Saul chose the right alternative. Apparently, nothing was more important to him than pleasing God. Years later, he wrote these words: “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the Law, but that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is from God by the faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).
To admit error and to change takes courage – plenty of it. Paul had to leave his father’s religion and spend the rest of his life building up a cause he had previously tried to destroy.
Do you have that kind of courage?
Song: “Have Thine own way, Lord”
Prayer: Unchanging God, we praise Your excellence as we confess our own sinfulness. Please help us to be courageous and to change in keeping with Your holy will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)