You Need God’s Power to Change
By Rick Warren

“I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does” (Romans 7:24-25 MSG).

We all have areas of life we’d change if we could. We’ve tried over and over to make our lives better on our own.

And we’ve failed — miserably.

Why? We can’t change ourselves. If we could, we would. But we can’t, so we won’t.

Willpower doesn’t work. At the most, it works for six months. But we have a limited supply of willpower. Pretty soon we run out of it and give up. We go off the diet and back to the bad habits. We go back to the bad relationships and start doing the same patterns we were in earlier. We need more than willpower to change our lives.

We need God’s power.

Paul understood this. He wrote, “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does” (Romans 7:24-25 MSG).

So give up trying to change yourself. You don’t need a class. You don’t need a new relationship. You don’t need a self-help book. You don’t need more money.

You need Jesus.

Talk It Over

  • What are some ways you’ve tried to change your life that haven’t worked?
  • Why do you think willpower is so ineffective in making changes to our lives?
  • How do you get God’s power?

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit rickwarren.org

Choose Joy Devotional Book

The secret to being happy no matter what is looking at every experience and circumstance you face from God’s viewpoint. When you go through difficult times joy becomes a choice you make minute by minute. Written by Pastor Rick’s wife, Kay Warren, this Devotional book is the perfect tool to help you stay focused on God’s word and see things from His perspective.  Each devotion begins with a much needed encouragement from Scripture, followed by Kay's wise words on how to live with joy. Each devotion ends with a short prayer to help bring you closer to the source of all joy—our loving God. 

This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can also listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.