One day, an old teacher was taking a walk through a forest with a student by his side. The old man suddenly stopped and pointed to four plants close at hand.

The first was just beginning to peep above the ground, the second had rooted itself pretty well into the earth, the third was a small shrub, while the fourth was a full-sized tree.

The tutor said to his young companion:  “Pull up the first.” 

The boy easily pulled it up with his fingers. 

“Now pull up the second.” 

The youth obeyed, but found the task not so easy. 

 “And now the third.” 

The boy had to put forth all his strength and use both arms to uproot it. 

 “And now,” said the master, “try your hand on the fourth.” 

But, the trunk of the tall tree, grasped in the arms of the youth, hardly shook its leaves. 

 “This, my son, is just what happens with our bad habits.

When they are young, we can cast them out more easily; but when they are old, it is hard to uproot them, though we struggle ever so sincerely. We need the help of God to remove them from our lives.” 

Have you ever tried to overcome a bad habit?

It can be very difficult at times.

Watson C. Black once said, “Bad habits are like comfortable beds — easy to get into but hard to get out of.” 

King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote in Proverbs 23:7,“For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

In other words, we become what we think about. As long as you think you’re a victim, you’ll act like a victim… as long as you think you’re worthless, you’ll feel worthless. The good news is: you don’t have to change the way others think about you — you must start by changing the way you think about yourself!

I’m not talking about “mind over matter” or “positive confession.”

I’m talking about seeing yourself the way God sees you and realizing you can overcome anything with His help.

Of course, the easiest way to overcome bad habits is not to start them. Frank Outlaw gives this list of the “Five Watches:” 

1. Watch your thoughts for they become words.

2. Watch your words for they become actions.

3. Watch your actions for they become habits.

4. Watch your habits for they become character.

5. Watch your character for it becomes your destiny. 

As you can see, everything starts with a thought.

Even good habits can become so rooted in our lives that no problem or circumstance can change them.

One good habit to have is found in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “Cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

In other words, refuse to entertain thoughts that go against what God says about us in the Bible. 

If Hollywood made a movie about the things you’ve thought about today, what rating would they give it and who would you want to watch it?

Our thoughts are powerful persuaders to our behavior.

That’s why David wrote in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

The best way to renew our minds and overcome bad habits is by meditating on God’s Word.

The Bible can wash out any ungodly thoughts and replace them with thoughts of life and peace.

If you are unhappy with the way your life is going then do something about it.

Give it to God and let Him begin by changing the way you think!

Rev. Doug Johnson is the senior pastor at Lexington First Assembly of God in Lexington, Kentucky.