Today we’re going to talk about change, true change. How many times have you wanted to change and turn from an old bad habit, but ultimately you fail? Romans 7:19 describes it perfectly. It says “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.”

Our willpower is weak at times. Whether it be trying to give up sugar or cigarettes, quit drinking, quit cheating, quit over spending, quit over sleeping, or start working out and start showing up to work on time, our willpower seems to come up short. We know what we should do and we even WANT to do the right thing, but we simply don’t.

You lack the power in some areas of your life to truly change. Now I hate to admit that because I know what a total powerhouse God created you to be. I know his plans for you are so big they will blow your mind. But I know your willpower isn’t going to be enough. Mine isn’t either. You can’t deliver yourself.

Romans 7 verse 24 says “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?”

So what is our answer? Well, it’s quite simple, however most of us have never done it. Today we will.

Our answer comes just in the next verse Romans 7:25 “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Jesus is your answer. And how many times have we heard that? Yeah, so many times it sounds cheap, so let me dig deeper and be more specific.

Have you really asked God to HELP you with the area where you struggle? Have you fully surrendered to him?

You woke up late, you left for work late, you’re surely going to be late. But you’re praying. Oh yes you’re praying, “please Lord let all the lights be green. Let me somehow make it there on time.” Nope. God isn’t interested in magically transporting you to work in record breaking time so you won’t be late, but he would totally be game for helping you get your butt out of bed if you would ask him.

Here’s what we typically do when we’re trying to be healthy and lose weight – It’s Friday morning, weigh in time. We step on the scale and we pray “please Lord, please let it go down. Please, come on God. Let the number be less.”

Now why didn’t we pray on Monday morning that God would help us resist the doughnuts in the office? Seriously, why didn’t we ask God for help when it mattered instead of when we’re stepping on the scale?

We want God to pull off a miracle without our participation. God doesn’t work that way.

How many times have we prayed for God to let us get by with our wrongdoing instead of praying God would help us to STOP our wrong doing? You see, God has zero interest in helping you get by with it, get away with it, or continue life one more day settling for bad habits, sinful decisions, and little life living. In fact, it’s disgusting to him. Why would he want to help you hide it? Why would he want to help you reap the benefits from something you weren’t willing to do? God isn’t interested in your comfort – he’s interested in your character. He wants YOU to be better. He wants you to live up to the potential he placed in you. And you can’t do it on your own.

So here’s where that leaves us. SURRENDER IT ALL TO GOD. Right here, right now this morning, surrender to God. You can’t do this without him. You can’t change without him. You’ve tried this already on your own. Now it’s time to invite God in and ask him to strengthen you. Ask him to provide the power to break the habit, to turn the other way, to resist the temptation.

God will be faithful. The answer is Jesus. There is power in his name. Call on him. Now.

What are you struggling with? Where have you been giving up? Where have you tried to change and you simply keep failing? You don’t have to pray that God would keep you from getting lung cancer as you smoke another cigarette. Nope, you can ask God to strengthen you to stop smoking TODAY. That can happen today.

You don’t have to pray that God would keep your husband from knowing about your affair. God’s not interested in helping you hide. You can pray that God would strengthen you to end it now and begin making things right. Will it be hard? Yes. Will there be a big mess to clean up? Absolutely. But this is it. This is where you ask God to help you change, not help you get away with it.

You don’t have to pray that God would miraculously drop a check or the winning lotto numbers in your hand. You can pray that God would give you the willpower to stop spending money on all the extras and be faithful with the little you do have.

Is God interested in these changes in your life? He absolutely is. He’s been waiting for you to invite him into the process. He has power available to you today. His power combined with your willpower, that’s where it’s at. Learn to tap into his power through praying continually as you make choices and strive to do the next right thing.

Wherever you’ve been struggling, God desperately wants to help you. He wants to strengthen you. He wants to empower you. He wants to help you change. Thank God, our answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus, we need your help today as we make our decisions.