When God brings to light something that needs change we do the necessary work and then we are to wait for it to grow and change us.
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”
James 5:7 NKJV
Change is always hard in fact it should be, this is scientific. Our brains are wired by us, our will. We do this by what we choose to think about daily, and what we choose to think about things when they happen. That is why aligning ourselves with God the creator of all things is so crucial as we walk through this life.
For instance in a simple example when you touch a hot stove and were burned you learn very quickly not to touch it again. When there are immediate painful consequences the brain organizes the information quickly into the correct response DON’T TOUCH.
What happens though, when pain is not immediate? We have to organize our brains manually. For example, at a party you are feeling nervous and have anxiety, you decide to have a drink to loosen up, it works. You feel much more relaxed and start to have a good time. Your brain has just learned that this is good so it tells you, naturally, to have another, as this gave good results.
The next morning however you beg to differ because now you feel awful. You now have to focus your brain on the previous event and connect the drink to the bad experience of the next morning. Otherwise your brain will find itself in the same situation in the future and remind you that when you had a drink everything was better, but we know this was not so in the long run. We have to manually override that with the experience of the next morning, or the brain does not learn the correct response.
The brain is an organizational system, it files experiences in different places with the one intent of seeking after what makes it feel good and avoiding what makes it feel bad because the brain does not want to be under stress.
Not everything is as simple as those scenarios. Most of the time situations are far more complex and “finding out” what to do or how to think about a situation can be very difficult. So we do the work, seek the Lord and we patiently wait. The brain is vary malleable and God knows this, because he created us. The Bible has known this. It has been there all along but only recently have scientists discovered this fact about the brain.
“Neuroscientists used to think that the brain stopped developing in adolescence. That meant that any damage that occurred to the brain in adulthood, such as loss of motor function because of a stroke, was permanent. However, as our scientific knowledge advanced over the course of the 20th century, research on brain development and injury recovery suggested the opposite. We now know that the brain is a highly active and malleable learning machine across a person’s lifespan. This malleability is called neuroplasticity.” Quote from Neuroplasticity: How to Use Your Brain’s Malleability to Improve Your Well-being
We have the ability to change and rewire our brains and it comes about by thought first and the bible knew this thousands of years before scientists. In order to rewire your brain you have to do the work. You have to use your free will and fill your mind with the thoughts of God.
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Philippians 4:8 NKJV
Knowing that all that is good comes from Him.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2