Daily Hope with Rick Warren 19th February 2025, Wednesday Devotional Message
Change Happens in God’s Power, Not Your Own
By Rick Warren
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
To experience God’s hope and comfort, you need to see who he is in order to see who you really are—it’s only then you’ll be able to see how he can change you.
Change often triggers two negative reactions. First, “I don’t have the time or energy to change.” Life feels too busy—too many responsibilities, too many diapers, too much to handle.
Second, “Who am I kidding? God can’t change me. I’ve tried a hundred times, failed, and feel like I’ve disappointed everyone, including God.”
Both reactions come from the false belief that change depends entirely on you. That mindset is exhausting and discouraging. If you have to sustain your own motivation to change every day, you’ll eventually give up. But God offers a better way.
Isaiah 40:28-31 reminds us where true power comes from: “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (NLT).
Real change isn’t about your power. It’s about God’s power working in you. Picture this: your efforts are like a hummingbird whose little wings are fluttering so fast. You flitter here for hope, there for hope, up for hope, down for hope—trying to get hope in your life. You’re worn out by trying to get to a place of hope on your own.
But God’s power is like an eagle, soaring on the updrafts of wind. Eagles don’t struggle—they rise because they are designed to catch the wind. Similarly, God designed your soul to soar on the updraft of his love, not your own striving.
To tap into his power, you must stop flitting from one place to another in search of hope and instead say, “God, I need you. I trust you moment by moment.” That’s when you’ll feel the updraft of his love, strength, and power.
Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (NLT). God gives you the desire to change, even when you don’t feel it, and he also gives you the power to take the next step. Change happens when you stop relying on your own strength and start trusting in God’s strength and power to transform your life.
Hope doesn’t come not from trying harder, but from trusting deeper. God wants you to remember this truth and to continually turn back to him because he is the one who gives you strength to soar.
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