Topic: Sometimes the Change Is Gradual [RICK WARREN Devotional 22 February2024]

Topic: Sometimes the Change Is Gradual [RICK WARREN Devotional 22 February2024]

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Sometimes the Change Is Gradual

BY RICK WARREN — FEBRUARY 22, 2024

“And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)

You need more power than just willpower in your life. You need God’s power.

The fruit of the Spirit is the qualities that God puts in your life when the Holy Spirit lives in you: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).

How does God produce the fruit in your life? Not by willpower. You could go out and say, “I’m going to be a more patient person!” but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work.

The Holy Spirit has to grow it on the inside. You try to say, “I’m going to be more patient. I’m going to be more loving.” It’s like tying some oranges on a eucalyptus tree and calling it an orange tree. It doesn’t work that way. The fruit of the Spirit can only come from the inside—God’s Spirit living through you.

How does the Holy Spirit work in your life? The answer is gradually: “And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT).

When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes six hours. When God wants to make an oak tree, he takes 60 years. The question is: Do you want your life to be a mushroom or an oak tree?

You didn’t collect your hurts, habits, and hang-ups overnight. The things we most want to change usually developed in us over years. Someone approached me once and said, “Pastor Rick, I need you to solve my marriage problem.” I said, “How long have you been married?” Fifteen years. “How long have you had this problem?” Ten years.

And you want a five-second answer? It isn’t going to happen! You’ve got to peel that onion one layer at a time.

The Holy Spirit works within us to make us gradually more and more like him. Our character is the sum total of our habits. Our responsibility is to develop new habits that reflect his work in us.

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Talk It Over

What new habits do you want to develop so that the Holy Spirit can continually work in your life to make you more like Christ?
Why are small steps toward growth and change just as important as big steps?
How can a small group or close friends help keep you on track as you make changes in your life?

Will you follow Jesus today?

God proved his goodness through his Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God” (John 3:16–18 CSB).

Are you ready to trust God to fulfill his promise of eternal life? If so, start by praying this simple prayer: “Dear God, I believe Jesus Christ is your Son. I confess I have sinned, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died to take away my sins and that you raised him to life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow him as Lord from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

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