To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.
God revealed this thousands of years before psychologists understood it:
"Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts." (Proverbs 4:23)
Imagine riding in a speedboat on a lake with an automatic pilot set to go east. If you decide to reverse course and head west, you have two possible ways to change the boat's direction.
One way is to grab the steering wheel and physically force it to head in the opposite direction from where the autopilot is programmed to go. By sheer willpower, you could overcome the autopilot, but you'd feel constant resistance. Your arms would eventually tire of the stress, you'd let go of the steering wheel, and the boat would instantly head back east, the way it was internally programmed.
This is what happens when you try to change you life with willpower; you say, "I'll force myself to eat less ... stop smoking ... quit being disorganized and late."
And, yes, willpower can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress because you haven't dealt with the root cause. The change doesn't feel natural. Eventually you give up and go off the diet.
Imagine riding in a speedboat on a lake with an automatic pilot set to go east. If you decide to reverse course and head west, you have two possible ways to change the boat's direction.
One way is to grab the steering wheel and physically force it to head in the opposite direction from where the autopilot is programmed to go. By sheer willpower, you could overcome the autopilot, but you'd feel constant resistance. Your arms would eventually tire of the stress, you'd let go of the steering wheel, and the boat would instantly head back east, the way it was internally programmed.
This is what happens when you try to change you life with willpower; you say, "I'll force myself to eat less ... stop smoking ... quit being disorganized and late."
We often hear the mantra “You can do anything you set your mind to.” And we believe it—until it all falls apart and we’re stunned to realize that our willpower was not enough. What the Bible says about human willpower is not too flattering. The apostle Paul penned some words sympathetic to all who have been dismayed at the failure of willpower to effect meaningful change:
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. . . . For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do” (Romans 7:15, 19).
Paul understood that, as strong as our willpower may be, it is not enough to overcome all temptation or keep our lives honoring to the Lord.
Willpower is a strong determination to do something or not to do something. More difficult tasks, such as quitting smoking or losing weight, require more willpower. New Year’s resolutions are one way we often try to exert our willpower over areas that are out of control. But by mid-February, our willpower has usually run out, proving that it is not strong enough to overcome our greater passion to please ourselves. As the proverb says, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly” (Proverbs 26:11). We’ve all been caught in the cycle of folly at one time or another; willpower alone is not strong enough to overcome habitual sin.
God offers us something stronger than willpower; He offers “Spirit power” (Ephesians 3:20). It is willpower that controls our actions and emotions, but our wills are fueled by something more powerful. We can think of our soul as a train, and the will is the engine. Wherever the engine goes, the train goes. The engine pulls the boxcars of experiences, perceptions, needs, motivations, and actions. But directly behind the engine is the fuel car. Without fuel, the mighty engine can’t move. Before we surrender to Christ, our will is fueled by our flesh. Passions, habits, opinions, impulses, and lusts continually feed our will, and it goes wherever they direct (Romans 8:8). But when we bow to the lordship of Jesus, we switch fuel cars. The Holy Spirit replaces self in our “fuel car,” and His power enables us to go where He wants us to go.
There is a better and easier way: Change your autopilot; in other words, the way you think. "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." (Romans 12:2 NLT)
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 NLT
From: @YouVersion plan 'Rick Warren's Daily Devotional'. Check it out here:
http://bible.com/r/2B Enjoy this teaching from Levi Lusko:
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