We are in the middle of home improvement projects at our house. We have added a new room and are replacing the flooring and painting in others. Right now, the place is a mess.
We have had to move furniture, carpet has been torn out, and dust is everywhere. And I have not even mentioned the cost. The fact of the matter is this: Making changes, even improvements in one’s home, comes with a cost. So why do it?
The reasons are many. We believe the improvements actually will be improvements. We think the place will look better. We will have more room. And the carpet is being replaced by laminate flooring. This will allow our son, who is in a wheelchair, to navigate more freely when he is with us. In other words, we believe that the benefits outweigh the costs.
The fact is that all of us probably have some project in our home that we would like to do. There is something that needs to be fixed, tweaked or rearranged in order to make it better.
And that likely is true in our personal lives, too. I do not intend to air my dirty laundry publicly, but I can tell you this: There are things in my life that are not right. I am far from the man that I want to be, much less the man that God has called me to be. There is the desperate need for improvement and outright change.  
But change is never easy; it comes with a cost. To stop an old habit will require a commitment that I am not always ready to make. To change my attitude will cost me something. I will have to put others first and not worry so much about my own wants and needs. And that is not easy.
Yet, I know this: The outcome will surely be worth it. When I choose to be the godly man that God has called me to be, my life will be more enjoyable.  
But there also is this: I cannot make these changes in my own strength.
Two New Testament verses strike me when I think of the changes I need to make. The first is from the last phrase in John 15:5, where Jesus says, “Without me, you can do nothing.” Compare that with Paul’s words in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”  
Do you see that? With Christ, anything. Without Christ, nothing. That’s hard to accept. It’s even harder to admit. But it is true.
Is there something in your life that needs to change? Keep this in mind:  You cannot do it alone. But the Lord stands ready to help. You can change in his power. And that is good news!