I CAN'T BUT HE CAN!
03rd Oct 2018
For years I struggled to keep myself from reacting in an angry way when I was irritated or upset. I knew this kind of behaviour was not godly and I struggled with condemnation and shame because however much I resolved to try harder, I failed and failed again.
Then one day, when I was repenting and crying to God for help, He spoke to my heart and revealed to me that self-effort was never going to be the answer. Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and what I needed was more Holy Spirit in order for that “fruit” to grow.
In a flash I realised I had not asked for His help, only used more determination to strengthen my self-effort. So that day I repented for all the ‘trying to control myself’, all the self-flagellation when I failed, and I started on a new pathway of “I can’t, but He can”, and change began to happen.
Old patterns of life are not instantly broken down; it takes time for our minds to be renewed; to change habits and create new ones, but it is possible with God’s resources which are freely and readily available.
Here are some steps to take:
1. We need to repent for ever thinking we can change ourselves - it is a form of pride because we are trusting ourselves. Jeremiah 17:5 says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength.”
2. We need to forgive ourselves, just as we are commanded to live in forgiveness to all.
3. In the same way as a child learning to walk, falls, gets up and continues again, so as we establish new patterns of behaviour it is the same process, fall, get up, keep going trusting God, not yourself.
4. Remember - “you have been delivered from the empty way of life handed down from your forefathers.” 1 Peter 1:18 The Message puts is this way, “Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know.”
by Joyce Sibthorpe
