04/30/2024
I used to think that willpower was strong enough to overcome any problem, temptation, or struggle. After decades of discovery, however, I am finally coming to the realization that willpower alone is not enough.
Call me a slow learner.
Without question, we need willpower to resist that piece of chocolate cake or to get up early and exercise, but with life’s deeper problems, willpower is paltry power. In the wonderful book, Live No Lies, author John Mark Comer writes,
Willpower versus a second cookie is one thing. But willpower versus triggered trauma? Or willpower versus addiction? Or willpower versus a father wound? It doesn’t stand a chance. As long as a temptation is just interfacing with the pre-frontal cortex, willpower is a great resource to draw on. But the moment we’re dealing with the amygdala, with the part of the brain or soul that is deeply wounded or hardwired in sinful ways of being, we are outmanned and outgunned by the flesh.
So, what’s the answer? Do we simply accede to our miserable failings and play the powerless victim “who just can’t help it,” or is there a path forward to hope and victory?
To win, we need to access a power greater than ourselves. Alcoholics Anonymous has been teaching this since 1935. Step One: I am powerless. Step Two: I accept a Power greater than me to overcome. Step Three: I turn my will and life over to this Power. The Power is the Spirit of Jesus indwelling our lives.
The question is, how do we access this power? As simple as it sounds, the answer is found in the daily practices and rhythms of faith. How did Jesus overcome Satan’s wily temptations? Prayer, fasting, and the Word. How did the Apostle Paul overcome his struggles? “I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27, CSB).
Prayer deepens our connection with God’s presence (Ephesians 3:14-19). Fasting deepens our dependence on God’s provision (Matthew 6:18). The Word deepens our training in God’s righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
Willpower? That’s an important step to get us started. Spirit power? That’s the train that gains steam down the track of life. Comer writes, “Willpower is at its best when it does what it can (direct my body into spiritual practices) so that the Spirit’s power can do what willpower can’t (overcome…enemies of the soul)” (ibid., 175).
Here’s my challenge to you: Begin (or continue) to incorporate spiritual practices into your daily rhythm. Schedule them. Write them down. Put them in your calendar. And then keep those appointments, because the more you practice the habits of Jesus, your spirit gets a little stronger and your flesh gets a little weaker. And that is a reward worth fighting for.
