“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 6:23 NIV
You have accepted the wonderful free gift of salvation, now what? What comes next? Some new Christians are surprised when they wake up the next day after accepting the ultimate gift of eternal life and their life is not dramatically changed. It can be hard to realize that there has been a dramatic change but it is not a change that is tangible, that you can see or touch. The change is in your path and ultimately your destination for eternity.
Your acceptance has changed the place you are spending eternity from hell to heaven. From a place of constant torment to a place of constant joy. From a place of complete separation from God to a place of complete closeness with God. That is the first change that has taken place, but that is not the only change that is happening.
Once you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit came to reside inside you. He is there to help you by prompting you as situations arise to possibly make different choices than you have made before. He is there to encourage you to read God’s word, get to know the being you have just decided to follow with all your heart, mind and soul.
When I am looking for help, I want practical suggestions not just theories. So here are practical suggestions for a new Christian to help when you become frustrated at not being able to see tangible changes in your life. I would suggest making sure that you remain connected to the person who you were with when you accepted Christ or if you were alone, then the person who led you to even know about Christ. I would suggest getting a Bible in a translation that you understand and begin reading it.
I encourage you that as you face situations, you pause for a moment and listen for that small inner voice to see what the Holy Spirit may be prompting you to do that is different from what you have done before. The change that every new Christian wants to be able to see actually happens when we follow the Holy Spirit’s nudges to act or react to situations, emotions and other people in a different manner than we are used to doing.
Change takes time, and it will happen as you grow closer to God, and as you listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides you throughout each day. Please remember thought, that the most important change occurred when you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you changed where you will spend eternity. We all have sinned and deserve the wages of our sin which is eternal separation from God, but Jesus paid the ultimate price so we can change our place of eternal residence from hell to heaven.
So what is next, is growth on our part as new creations. We listen, follow and grow. I pray that you make sure you are listening to the Holy Spirit today and following His lead. Walk with your head held high that you are a child of the most high God.