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New nature
We can learn a lot about the importance of a good attitude by looking at the children of Israel. It’s estimated that about 1.5 million Israelites came out of Egypt. God delivered them from slavery and led them to the Promised Land. The trip should have taken about eleven days. It took forty years. The reason it took so long was that they were constantly complaining about everything. They complained about the food God sent from heaven each day. And any time something difficult crossed their path, they were ready to give up and go back to Egypt – and back to slavery. What’s astounding is that out of the 1.5 million people who left Egypt, only two from the original group made it into the Promised Land. And today there are many Christians who have also escaped from ‘Egypt’ (their former life of slavery to sin), believers who are always looking forward to the Promised Land, but they end up wandering in the wilderness their entire lives, complaining and giving up when things get tough, and dealing with the same old problems and issues. If you feel like you’re going round in circles and dealing with the same problems all the time, make the decision to break the cycle and tell God about how you’re feeling. Then with God’s help, resolve to ‘throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy’ (Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT). Hold on to the fact that when you’re faced with a challenge, God is your ‘place of safety and protection’ (Psalm 91:2 NCV).
What Now?
Turn Ephesians 4:22-24 into a personal declaration (‘I will throw off my sinful nature and my former way of life…’ etc.), then speak it out loud every morning.
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