4 Steps to a Better Life

by Eddie Foster
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Topics: Christian Living, Christian Growth

Do you want a better life? The Bible is often ignored, but actually gives several steps that lead to a happier, more fulfilling life. Here are four.

But the God who created us does not want that for any of us! There are many ways to improve our daily lives that are clearly explained, and some even commanded, in the Bible. However, we have to seek them out and then have the motivation to do and stick with them.

To all the naysayers, we challenge you to give these steps a try and then see if you feel the same way after a month. When properly applied, the wisdom and advice of God found in the Bible may make a believer out of you too.

What should I do?

1. Pray. We’ve heard this one before, haven’t we? Have you heard the regular naysayers? “It doesn’t work.” “Just thinking about it is the same thing as praying about it.” “Prayer is a waste of time.” Why so much negativity about quietly talking to God?

Take a moment to think of the benefits. When you pray, you are telling the most powerful Being in the universe that you believe in Him and want to have a relationship with Him. Don’t you want to get to know the Creator of everything? God wants us to “come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Talk to God, and see how a relationship with Him can transform your life.

You may not know where to start. Read our article “Do You Pray the Way Jesus Taught?” to learn basic principles of how to pray.

2. Study the Bible. You may think this is just another one of those “churchy” sounding ideas. Well, it is. It is no accident that the Bible has been so well-preserved over thousands of years. It is no accident there are so many surviving ancient Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament, as well as the many thousands of ancient Greek manuscripts for the New Testament. God made sure the Bible survived, virtually unchanged, for thousands of years. To learn more, read the interesting story of the “Dead Sea Scrolls.”

Consider some of the benefits of regular Bible study: a daily dose of hope, wisdom, prophecy, history, character lessons, intriguing historical figures, life lessons, etc. In fact, the Bible presents a much more compelling story than The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin! Giving up some time with a magazine or comic book to study a book that claims to be the living word of God is a wise choice (Hebrews 4:12).

If you need some study ideas, check out our “Bible Study Topics” page.

Talk to God and see how a relationship with Him can transform your life. 3. Meditate. No, this is not the kind of meditation where you stare at a spot on the wall and think of nothing. Real meditation is focused thinking about God, life, relationships and all the things we read in the Bible. The world is loud and noisy and constantly fighting for our attention. Sometimes we just need to shut it all out and think.

Consider the benefits of meditation. It gives us focused time to improve our spiritual thinking, and thus improve everything that happens as a result of our thinking. Getting our minds on things that really matter goes a long way toward getting our minds off things that make us feel empty. Modern psychology promotes meditation and positive thinking, but these ideas long predated modern times and are found in the Bible: “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).

4. Love God and others. This phrase is the essence of the entire Bible. Essentially, all the wisdom, laws and teachings of the Bible point back to the overall theme of love. Many people try to skip over the “loving God” part and go straight to a misguided love of others through irresponsible tolerance. But such tolerance is often just the enabling of destructive behavior (which, in reality, is the opposite of love).

Just think of the benefits of:

• Showing kindness to others instead of spite and revenge.
• Worshipping and praising the God of heaven and earth in the way He wants.
• Giving of ourselves to others (fulfilling) rather than always taking (unfulfilling).
• Greeting the world around us with a smile and helping hand rather than an angry glare.

Christ described love toward God and man as the first and second greatest commandments, on which “hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

If you do what God says, life will get better day by day.

Can it really be that simple?

Yes! When we talk to God, listen to Him, think about Him and do what He says every day, our lives will drastically change for the better. Don’t believe it? Try it! God may be calling you to a much better life.

Date Posted: July 25, 2018