“You cannot change what you are willing to tolerate.”

A thought by Craig Groeschel (2015-10-27) from his book, #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World (p. 198). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is the truth!

Back a few years ago I got tired of weighing 260 lbs. so I with God's help did something about it and I went through a slow process of losing 50 lbs. That was great. But I have slowly gained 25 lbs. back and I know that I cannot change until I’m not willing to tolerate the weight gain and do something about it. Do you have anything in your life that you are tolerating?

Craig says, “If you just sort of don’t like it, the problem won’t go away. Not ever. If you’re willing to put up with it, things will never be different. You have to get to the point where you’re no longer afraid of what you might miss out on. You have to refuse to miss out on what— and who— is right in front of you.”

He goes on, “Addictions are rarely easy to overcome. But God will start the healing process if you let him, if you’re willing to rely on his power to do what you cannot do on your own.”

He the shares from his own life, “My dad is the perfect example. He was addicted to alcohol for much of my life. Every night I was at home as a child and we were alone, I remember my dad drinking. Every night. Then when he was fifty-one years old, something clicked in him. Something snapped. Something changed. Dad had had enough. He was ready to change. He surrendered his addiction to God and asked for help. As his relationship with God grew, so did Dad’s desire to get well. He admitted that he had a problem, and he decided to do whatever it took to get help. My dad has now been sober for more than twenty-three years, for which he gives Jesus all the credit. Now he helps others get free of their addictions and devotes much of his time to a prison ministry and serving on the board of two nonprofits focused on recovery for addicts. The change makes me emotional as I write this. I could not be more proud and thankful for God’s work in his life.”

So where are you in this process?

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