Topic: Willpower Won’t Solve Your Problem [RICK WARREN Devotional 14 February2024]
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Willpower Won’t Solve Your Problem
BY RICK WARREN — FEBRUARY 14, 2024
FROM THE INVISIBLE WAR
“I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.”
Romans 7:22-23 (NLT)
You have a war inside of you that will rage for your entire life between who you used to be and who you’ve become in Jesus Christ. Even Paul, the most decorated missionary in the history of Christianity and the author of most of the New Testament, battled with it.
The Bible says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another powerwithin me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (NLT, second edition).
I hate to tell you this, but you’ll always have this battle. You’ll never outgrow it. You can’t read enough Scripture to make the temptations go away. You can’t hide from them.
Until you get to Heaven, you’re stuck with an all-out battle between your two natures. I’ve been a believer for a long time, but my old nature is still there. My old nature wants me to be prideful, lustful, self-centered, deceptive, and downright sinful sometimes.
You have the same old nature always trying to get the best of you. The question is, what are you going to do about it?
Willpower won’t solve the problem. Just because you want to change and put everything into making that change doesn’t mean you’ll make the change. It may work for a bit, but you’ll get tired and stop the effort.
In your spiritual walk, you have to choose to follow your new nature, meaning you choose not to follow your old nature. For instance, if you’re tempted with lust but you immediately remove yourself from the temptation, you’ll starve the old self. If, when you’re tempted with pride, you remember your dependence upon God, your old nature can’t last long.
You have to make choices—maybe a hundred a day—to put the old nature aside and follow your new nature that is becoming like Jesus Christ.
Talk It Over
- In what ways do you see your old nature struggling with your new nature on a daily basis?
- How can you set yourself up for success in these situations?
- Why is it necessary to remove yourself from temptation instead of just looking the other way or praying about it?
Where will you spend eternity?
The Bible says you can only get to heaven by trusting in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. You can’t earn your way into heaven: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).
If you’re ready to commit your life to Jesus, start by praying this prayer:
“Dear God, you have promised that if I believe in your Son, Jesus Christ, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.
“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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