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According to the old testament What should a person do when?...

sense12

Member
According to the old testament What should a person do when they want something in their life to change and it seems unlikely to happen?
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
With the scenario I'm talking about it's a person I want to change and how I relate to them. Although In general I would rather a spiritual change
How great is the necessity to work things out with this person? Is this a spouse? Someone you are deeply in love with? Your boss at work? A sibling?

We can't change other people, we can only change ourselves.

Most of the time, when we change ourselves, it changes how others relate to us. BUT NOT ALWAYS.

I don't group the changes I need to make in myself into "spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical." For me they are simply things I need to do to become a better person. Remembering to brush my teeth is as important as keeping my patience or saying my morning prayers or being more exacting in my file keeping or not watching Will and Grace on the Sabbath.

What I'm saying is that if you feel you are part of the problem between you and this other person, then make a list of the things you do, or attitudes you have, that contribute to the problem. Then, under each item, make another list of practical things you can do to improve on it. In your daily prayer time, review with the Lord how you are doing with each thing, and ask for his grace to assist you. Ask him if there is anything else you should be working on, or other strategies for any of the items. Don't worry about if your strategies are physical, psychological, or spiritual.

For example, if I am being irritable with my husband lately, my strategies might include everything from getting more sleep, to setting aside time to just chat with him, to spending 5 minutes each morning in quiet deep breathing to de-stress to cutting back on the responsibilities at church that tend to be overwhelming me. Some of those things might be classified as physical or psychological or spiritual. But to me they are just "STUFF I NEED TO DO!!" LOL
 
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Deeje

Avid Bible Student
Premium Member
According to the old testament What should a person do when they want something in their life to change and it seems unlikely to happen?

That depends on if it is possible to change it. Are you waiting for something to happen.....or hoping for something to happen....or can you actively do something to make it happen? Without details it isn't possible to offer advice.
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Sometimes there are other people who just don't respond positively to us. They don't like our personality, or they don't like how we look, or our religion, or they are just damaged or bad people.

Don't keep trying and trying. If you've sought advice and have made changes to yourself to address your part of the problem, and they are still being jerks, know when to cut them off.
 

sense12

Member
That depends on if it is possible to change it. Are you waiting for something to happen.....or hoping for something to happen....or can you actively do something to make it happen? Without details it isn't possible to offer advice.
in general i would like my circumstances to change.but in regards to this post theres a person i really care about and theyre very immature and quite wordly and i want them to change their behaviour.i no i cant force anyone to do anything and have very little conrol over the scenario :(
 

Deeje

Avid Bible Student
Premium Member
in general i would like my circumstances to change.but in regards to this post theres a person i really care about and theyre very immature and quite wordly and i want them to change their behaviour.i no i cant force anyone to do anything and have very little conrol over the scenario :(

No one can change another person.....you first have to understand that the only person you can change is yourself. But sometimes, by altering your own behavior, people close to you will respond by changing theirs. To set yourself up waiting for other people to change, disappointment is never far away. Being in a constant state of disappointment is a recipe for depression.
Expectations are awful things when they are never fulfilled. :(

Again, without knowing the details......for our own sanity, sometimes we either have to walk away from toxic people, or doom ourselves to living a less than satisfying life, trying to make them happy, when they are often not interested in making us happy. If this person is both "immature and worldly" (terms that you seem to indicate are not attractive to you) do you see these attributes changing any time soon?

Sounds like you have some decisions to make.
 
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sense12

Member
Sometimes there are other people who just don't respond positively to us. They don't like our personality, or they don't like how we look, or our religion, or they are just damaged or bad people.

Don't keep trying and trying. If you've sought advice and have made changes to yourself to address your part of the problem, and they are still being jerks, know when to cut them off.
thank you for your advice.deep down i know you're right and its best to leave when we cant change an outcome.i hate to give up though lol...
 

sense12

Member
No one can change another person.....you first have to understand that the only person you can change is yourself. But sometimes, by altering your own behavior, people close to you will respond by changing theirs. To set yourself up waiting for other people to change, disappointment is never far away. Being in a constant state of disappointment is a recipe for depression.
Expectations are awful things when they are never fulfilled. :(

Again, without knowing the details......for our own sanity, sometimes we either have to walk away from toxic people, or doom ourselves to living a less than satisfying life, trying to make them happy, when they are often not interested in making us happy. If this person is both "immature and worldly" (terms that you seem to indicate are not attractive to you) do you see these attributes changing any time soon?

Sounds like you have some decisions to make.
thanks for you're advice.i know i have to curb my expectations because i don't want to be disappointed or depressed like you said
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
According to the old testament What should a person do when they want something in their life to change and it seems unlikely to happen?
That's a pretty wide question. Unlikely could be a moment for God to show up or it could be something you shouldn't want.

But generally speaking, Joshua 1:8 and Proverbs 18:20-21are good for starters as far as the principles go.
 
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