This morning’s devotion started with the devotional entitled, “The Ability to Change”.  It is written by Charles Stanley.  This is my second year to use his devotional but it was as though it was my first time to comprehend today’s message.  It mirrors in so many ways the “believing” message God has been wanting me to see and know.  I don’t usually quote someone’s entire message in my blog but today I’m going to do so as it is so fitting for me.

Galatians 2:20–“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

“Are you amazed at the sickness of our heart–the way it strays from  God’s Word, doubts His promises, and wavers during difficult situations?  Do your efforts to reform your behavior fail repeatedly, discouraging you again and again?  It may be that though you trust Jesus to save you, you don’t really have faith that He can transform your life.  And so you work, wrestle, and strive to do it yourself–all in vain.

Friend, the Holy Spirit is both willing and able to produce the character of Christ in you–not through your effort, but through His transformative power.  Your job is to abide in Him, which means staying focused on Jesus, submitting to His leadership, and seeing the details of your life as coming from His hand for your instruction.    You cannot change yourself–but God can.  And once you learn to let Him transform you, you will have the key to living a truly victorious life.”

I have such an awful habit of trying to achieve on my own forgetting until later that I can simply abide in Christ and let Him fight the battle.  Today I’m going into believing with more substance.  The substance is the belief that Jesus has transformed me already and I will abide in this truth not having to shift into me fighting.