Beyond Willpower: Unlocking True Change

Beyond Willpower: Unlocking True Change

How often have you tried to change something about yourself with sheer willpower, only to feel yourself slowly, inevitably, crumble?

I will eat healthier! (Pass the chips, please.)

I will stay off my phone. (I just need to check the weather... for 20 minutes.)

I will wake up and exercise! (Man, sleep is good for the soul.)

Sound familiar? It certainly does to me. We all have those moments where we desperately want to be different, but our own strength feels like a leaky bucket—it just can't hold the change. When we fail, we feel defeated, powerless, and it seems much easier to just stay stuck.

But to become like Jesus, to truly change, we need something more than a stern talking-to in the mirror.

What You Believe Determines Who You Become

The key to change isn't in mustering up more effort; it's in deepening your belief about God.

Over the past few weeks, we've thought about God's goodness and how personal He is—He chose us, loves us, and adopts us. As Romans 2:4 reminds us, it's actually God's lovingkindness that leads us to change.

But today, let's focus on a truth just as vital: God's Power.

If God were good but not powerful, He’d be empathetic but ultimately weak—a kind grandpa, not a God who can actually change the world (or us!). If He were powerful but not good, He'd be a tyrant, forcing compliance without ever transforming the heart.

But our God is personal, good, and powerful! That combination is the catalyst for real change within us. We know we are not powerful enough, but if He is good and powerful, then He can change everything.

His Power is Revealed in His Plan

Take a moment to meditate on a powerful section from Ephesians, where the Apostle Paul lays out God's grand plan:

And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth... He makes everything work out according to his plan. (Ephesians 1:10-11, emphasis added)

Think about that word: everything.

Do you have a worry right now that feels massive, completely outside your control? A family division? A fear about the future? A poor habit you can't break?

Worry is just meditation on what you fear. Instead, let's meditate on this truth: Everything is under His authority. He works everything according to His good plan.

This is the power that can break down walls of hostility—between nations, between political rivals, and even the self-imposed walls between who you are and who you want to become.

His Power is Present in the Holy Spirit

What is the ultimate purpose of this powerful plan? That we would be united in Christ to praise and glorify God (Ephesians 1:12). And the mechanism for that change is right inside you.

The moment you believe in Jesus, He identifies you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). The Spirit is God's personal, present power.

How powerful is the Spirit? Romans 8:11 tells us:

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you!

You can’t change on your own, and you don’t have to! You are being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who is in you. He seals you, guarantees your future, and is actively changing your life for the praise and glory of God.

So, let's trade the exhausting battle of sheer willpower for the overwhelming power of His presence. I can't change? No, I am changing through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today, what will you surrender to the God who is good, personal, and powerful enough to change everything—including you?