Changed Part 7: The Challenge of Change
Faith and Doubt: Why Real Change Feels So Hard to Hold Onto
Real change feels hard because it is never just about doing something different. It is about becoming someone different, and that process almost always stirs up faith and doubt at the same time. Overcoming doubt is not a one-time decision; it is a daily part of what real change actually costs.
If you have been trying to change for a while and it still feels slow, you are not failing. You are exactly where most honest people end up.
This message comes from week seven of Impact Church's "Changed" series, brought by Pastor Darrison Telles, a guest pastor from Miami, Florida who leads a young church called Free House Miami. He did not come with a polished formula for change. He came with a confession that faith and doubt often live in the same heart, and that the road to real change runs straight through both.
What Does Real Christian Transformation Actually Look Like?
Christian transformation rarely looks like a better version of the same life. Pastor Darrison Telles put it plainly: God is not interested in giving you a slightly improved version of yourself. He is after something different altogether, a new appetite, a new perspective, a new way of seeing the people and problems in front of you.
That kind of Christian transformation can feel disorienting before it feels good. The old seat, the old friend group, the old routine, all of it made sense. A genuinely different life does not always look better at first, and it can look smaller or quieter or harder to explain to people who knew the old version of you.
Scripture backs this up in 1 Peter 2:9, which says believers are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession." That is not a description of a nicer version of an old identity. It is a completely new one, built on being known and claimed by God rather than recognized by everyone around you.
The honest, doable step here is small. Name one thing in your life right now that God seems to be making different rather than better, and sit with that instead of rushing to fix it.
Why Is Trusting God So Hard When Change Gets Difficult?
Trusting God gets tested the moment change stops feeling exciting and starts feeling costly. Pastor Darrison Telles named this directly: trusting God sometimes means letting go of friendships that no longer fit, habits you leaned on for years, or a dream you built your whole identity around.
He shared his own story of stepping out in faith to plant a church in Miami, only to end up working an overnight shift at a UPS warehouse, sorting boxes at three in the morning. Trusting God in that season did not feel like promotion. It felt like a demotion he could not explain to anyone who used to know him as a pastor on a stage.
That kind of hard season is exactly what Galatians 2:20 speaks to when it says a believer has been "crucified with Christ" and no longer lives for themselves. Trusting God through something that looks like loss, not gain, is one of the most difficult parts of a genuinely changed life, and Scripture never pretends otherwise.
The honest, doable step here is simple. Instead of asking God to remove the difficulty, ask him what he wants to build in you through it, and write down whatever answer comes to mind.
What Does Dying to Self in Christ Really Mean?
Dying to self in Christ is where faith and doubt collide most honestly, and it is often where overcoming doubt actually begins. Pastor Darrison Telles described sorting boxes for months, unsure if the sacrifice meant anything, until doubt itself became the turning point in his story rather than the end of it.
He pointed to a father in Mark 9:22, a man whose son needed healing and who cried out to Jesus, "I believe. Help my unbelief." That single sentence captures dying to self in Christ better than a tidy testimony ever could, because it holds both a claim of faith and an honest confession of doubt in the same breath.
Dying to self in Christ does not mean pretending doubt does not exist. It means bringing that doubt to God instead of hiding it, the way that father did, and trusting that even a small, honest faith is enough for God to work with.
The honest, doable step here is to pray that exact prayer today: "I believe, help my unbelief," and let it be enough for now.
What Does 1 Peter 2 Teach About Overcoming Doubt and Becoming New?
1 Peter 2 offers a short but complete picture of what it means to become someone new in Christ, and it has plenty to say about overcoming doubt along the way. The passage does not promise an easier life. It describes an entirely different identity, one built on being chosen rather than proving yourself worthy.
1. Rid Yourself of the Old Weight
What It Means: 1 Peter 2 opens by asking believers to set down malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander before anything new can take root.
Why It Matters: You cannot build a new identity while still carrying the full weight of the old one.
2. Crave What Actually Nourishes You
What It Means: The passage compares believers to newborns craving pure spiritual milk, a plain picture of desiring what is simple, honest, and good for you.
Why It Matters: Growth requires wanting the right things, not just resisting the wrong ones.
3. Become a Living Stone
What It Means: 1 Peter 2 describes believers as living stones being built into something bigger than themselves, a shared spiritual house rather than a solitary project.
Why It Matters: Change was never meant to happen in isolation.
4. Remember Whose You Are
What It Means: The chapter closes with 1 Peter 2:9, calling believers "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession."
Why It Matters: Identity rooted in being chosen holds steady even when circumstances do not.
Finding Community Wherever You Call Home in the Valley
Wrestling with faith and doubt while trying to change is not a struggle that waits for the right season or the right circumstances, and it rarely resolves itself just because life looks calmer on the outside. If you are looking for a place to bring that tension honestly, Impact Church meets people across the greater Phoenix Valley, from North Scottsdale to South Scottsdale and everywhere in between across Maricopa County, whether you call Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, or Paradise Valley home. You do not need your doubts resolved before you show up, and there is a seat for you wherever you are coming from across the Valley.
Your Next Step in the Challenge of Change
Real change was never going to be easy, and this message never pretended otherwise. Whether you are wrestling with what is different, what is difficult, or what you still doubt, the same invitation stands: bring the honest parts of your faith to God rather than hiding them.
You are welcome to worship with us in person and see what this looks like together, so plan your visit here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Difficult seasons often mean God is asking you to trust him with something you cannot yet see the outcome of. Instead of asking him to remove the difficulty, ask what he wants to build in you through it. Many people find that naming the specific fear or loss out loud, in prayer or with a trusted friend, makes the season easier to carry.
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A completely changed life often feels disorienting before it feels good, since the old version of you made sense and the new one does not yet. Give yourself permission to feel unfamiliar to yourself for a season. Stay close to Scripture and to people who can remind you who you are becoming.
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Start by admitting the doubt honestly instead of hiding it, the way the father in Mark 9:22 did when he said, "I believe. Help my unbelief." Doubt tends to grow in silence and shrink when it is spoken. Small, honest faith is still enough for God to work with.
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Dying to self means no longer building your identity, decisions, or worth around your own comfort, reputation, or plans. It means trusting that God's direction for your life matters more than your own, even when that direction is harder than the one you would have chosen. It is a daily choice, not a one-time event.
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The Changed series has run for several weeks at Impact Church, featuring messages from Pastor Travis Hearn and guest voices like Pastor Darrison Telles. Each message explores a different angle of what it means to let God transform a life. You can find more about the church's beliefs and community by visiting the Who We Are page.
Leave us a comment to share your favorite takeaway from the sermon and be sure to share the message with someone you care about.
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