Do You Need To Change Your Environment?

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. - Hebrews 10:24-25

Lately I’ve been trying to go on a walk every single day in an attempt to get my steps in. Working a desk job from home doesn’t exaclty require a lot of movement. So the daily walks help me be a little more active.

Now, if you don’t already know this, I live in Northern Kentucky. And when I say northern, I mean it. We are only about 20 minutes from the Ohio state line, so we’re at the tip top of the state. And in the past two years of moving here I’ve learned the weather can be very fickle, which has made my daily walks quite interesting.

For instance, yesterday, I took a walk during my lunch break. And by the time I got back to my house, I was absolutely exhausted. The walk ended up being a lot tougher than I expected. We live in a big neighborhood and there are some hills sprinkled throughout the route I take. But what made the walk so difficult was the heat and humidity. It was nearly 90 degrees outside with very high humidity. The air was hot and stale, with no breeze to be felt. It was pretty brutal.

But then today, I took another walk. It was at the same time and I took the same route, but the walk was so much more pleasant and enjoyable. Why? Because the temperature had dropped to 68 degrees with overcase skies, and there was a good bit of wind (thank you incoming thunderstorm).

So while my journey was the same both days, the way I experienced the journey varied drastically because of my surrounding environment.

Now, with this in mind, I want to propose to you that the same is true with our lives as we follow Jesus.

Life is going to be hard no matter what. Like I said yesterday, Jesus never promised us an easy life. There will be times we’re struggling to walk uphill and other times it’s not so difficult because we’re walking downhill, just like my walks in our neighborhood. But in the midst of whatever circumstances we’re facing, our surrouding environment can make a big difference in how we walk the path that’s been marked out for us.

For example, if you’re trying to follow Jesus and live the life He’s called you go live, but you don’t have a strong Christian community around you — praying for you, helping you, and supporting you along the way — your circumstances are going to seem a lot tougher to navigate.

Or if you’re trying to grow in your relationship with God, but you aren’t plugged in at a local church, you’re going to find it difficult to feel close to the Lord because you’re not putting yourself in an enviroment that encourages you in that relationship.

Or if you’re trying to break free of a certain sin struggle, but you’re hanging out with people who don’t see the sin as an issue, or if you’re hanging out in places that make your temptations much more difficult to resist, you’re going to have a much tougher time finding freedom from that sin.

Remember, life is going to be hard no matter what. Following Jesus is not a ticket to an easy, pain-free life. However, even in the midst of life’s challenges and struggles, we have a choice of who and what we surround ourselves with. And our surrounding environment will make a big difference.

Following Jesus’ plan for your life and living in obedience to Him is easier when you are doing life alongside people who are doing the same thing.

Growing in your relationship with God is easier when getting invested and involved in your local church becomes a top priority.

Breaking free from sin struggles is easier when you put yourself in an environment that points you towards freedom, not one that tries to keep you captive.

I took the exact same walk two days in a row, but my environment made a massive difference in how I experienced that walk. And your environment will make a massive difference in the way you live your life, one way or the other.

Now, as we wrap up, here’s the part where I want to ask you some questions. I’d encourage you to think through these, journal about them, pray through them, and see if there’s anything about your environment that might need to change as you strive to live the life God has marked out for you.

What kind of people are you surrounding yourself with? Do they encourage you in your walk with Jesus? Do they hold you accountable? Do they pray for you, support you, and show up for you?

Are you plugged into a local church? Do people at your church know you? Are you involved with a certain ministry or do you volunteer on a team? If you answered no to any of these questions, what’s keeping you from getting invested in a local church?

What kind of boundaries do you need to put in place as you do the work to be free from your sin struggles? Are there people you need to stop spending time with? Do you need to change the places where you hang out in your free time? Are there any safeguards or accountability measures you need to implement?

Like I said, take some time to think through these questions. Don’t skim over them. Really dig in. As you do, I think you’ll begin to see how big of an impact your environment is having on the way you live your life. And that will help you make healthy, God-honoring decisions regarding the environments you choose to stay in and the environments you choose to walk away from.