Willpower, Is That the Answer?

I am struggling with living a healthier lifestyle … food seems to call my name (those little M and M men sit on my shoulder…and now there are sooo  many flavors!) and I can’t seem to hear the call of the treadmill.  So, I’m thinking I have no WILLPOWER.

It got me to thinking, why do I want or need willpower…perhaps it is not a good thing.  Seems to me that willpower can be defined with this acronym:

W ishful thinking

 I  njecting my wisdom

 L iking my plan

 L ifting up my own power

 P ride

 O penly telling God I’m doing it my way

 War of wills…mine or God’s

 E xcuses ruling each day

 R eign of compromise in my life.

Here’s what I’m thinking. The only way a Christian can make needed changes, mature, and grow is to keep focused on Jesus….the things of Christ… day by day, moment by moment; when we do that, the Holy Spirit draws us to spiritual things and away from the flesh and the material things.  I will never become spiritually mature if I depend on me and my willpower…on what I can accomplish.

What is the opposite of me exercising my willpower?  Me depending on God – Me looking to God for guidance and power – Me recognizing my weaknesses and limitations.

I need HIS POWER not mine. HIS WILL not mine.  HIS WISDOM not mine.   My struggles make me realize that my surrender, trust, and commitment to my Almighty God lead to growth and needed change in my life.

Galatians 3:3 (NLT) How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

 Joyfully,

Yvonne