Romans 7:19 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

Human willpower is often hailed as a source of strength and determination. But what does the Bible say about man’s will and its limitations? Join us for this week’s devotions and Bible verses that shed light on the importance of surrendering our will to God’s perfect plan. Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

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When we trust Jesus to save us, the Holy Spirit makes us into brand new creatures. We call this process regeneration, and it happens instantly. Learning to live like new creatures, however, takes time and practice. We call this process transformation, and it happens as we choose to cooperate with the Holy Spirit by obeying God. The more we cooperate, the quicker the process goes. Even so, none of us will be completely like Jesus until we get to Heaven, where God will finally complete what He started when we trusted Jesus to save us.

We shouldn’t let the fact that we won’t be perfect until we get to Heaven discourage us from working toward that goal with the Holy Spirit’s help. Our goal here on earth isn’t to be the best, but to show people what God can do with a surrendered heart so they will trust Jesus to save them and give God praise. We will keep making mistakes because we are human, but God can even use those mistakes as long as we respond properly when He corrects us by confessing our mistakes and letting Him help us do better. When we do that, people get a glimpse of both who we would be without Jesus and what He has done in our hearts. People are more likely to give God credit for the good in us because they’ve seen the bad.

The best way to make sure we are moving in the right direction and being transformed is to practice spiritual disciplines that will help us build a solid faith, keep us focused on God, and help us communicate with Him. Bible study is one of those spiritual disciplines. When we put the Bible in our hearts and minds, we give the Holy Spirit something to bring to our minds when we need it. We give Him a vocabulary to use when communicating with us. Prayer is another helpful spiritual discipline. Prayer teaches us to bring our desires in line with God’s and to trust Him to make the most of the new life He has given us by the same faith that saved us. Participation with other saved people is another spiritual discipline. It teaches us to put God and others above self.

“Free will without God’s grace is not free at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil, since it cannot turn itself to good.” Martin Luther