“I can’t do that.”
“It will never work.”
“I’ve tried before.”
“I’m afraid to try.”
Have you ever found yourself saying one of these things when it comes to change? Whether you’re attempting something new, trying to change the way you think, or starting a different routine, you come up with a million reasons why it won’t work for you before you’ve even started. Why do we do that to ourselves?
If we do that in the little things, how much more do we have this mindset with the big things? Growing to be more like Jesus sounds like a big, audacious goal that we have to achieve on our own. What makes it even harder is that the enemy would love for you to believe that it’s not even possible. So what do we do when we want to figure out what’s true? Head to the Bible.
In John 16, Jesus tells his disciples that when he leaves the earth, there’s a way he will stay connected with them. There’s a way they will still have help: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Helper: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:15–16).
This is good news! We cannot grow to be like Jesus without the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We have help. The biggest mistake we can make with sanctification is thinking it’s a self-help initiative. It’s a Holy Spirit initiative.
“Holy Spirit, help me to love those around me with grace and compassion.”
“Help me to make this decision.”
“Help me to trust you with this day.”
It’s easy to believe change in our lives isn’t possible if the change is only up to us. Praise God that’s never what he has in mind as he molds us to be more like him. How much more do we stick to something we say we’re going to do when we have someone holding us accountable? The Holy Spirit is our guide, our teacher, our helper. God’s Spirit is inside of us, showing us how to live a godly life. He literally is the change agent—the one doing the work. The only way we look any different. The reason we can look like Jesus at all.
You’re not alone.
I experience the Holy Spirit at work when I am in stressful meetings. I have several meetings that can leave me very frustrated and irritated. I will frequently call on the Holy Spirit to take over my thoughts, words, and actions before a meeting starts and to help me look at my co-workers as Jesus would, with compassion, understanding, and grace. I don’t want my co-workers to know me as a stress ball, but rather a team player that responds with kindness and lots of grace.