Day 2
Why You Are Stuck
God’s Laws At Work
God knows that you continually fail, and He wants it to be different. He wants so much
to set you free from this bondage that He sent Jesus to make it possible.
There is a reason why we are stuck doing what we don't want to do, and I will explain
why.
The Reality God Created
When God created the universe, He created it to operate in an orderly way in
accordance with unchangeable laws. There are three aspects, or realms, to the reality
we experience:
The Physical Realm
We can all see the orderliness of the physical realm. The physical laws, such as those
of physics, chemistry, and mathematics, are unchangeable. We may not fully
understand them, and we may misapply them, but they still operate all the time.
For example, if I were to go onto the roof of my house, convinced that I can fly, flap
my arms really hard and step off the roof, I would make a discovery. I would discover
myself lying on the ground with a broken leg. It wouldn’t matter whether I knew about
the law of gravity or not. It wouldn’t matter if I understood it, or whether I agreed with
it, or whether I believed in it. It wouldn’t matter how much faith I had that gravity didn’
t apply to me. My broken leg wouldn't mean God was angry with me. I didn’t break
God’s law, all I did was demonstrate it. The law of gravity is constant. There are no
exceptions.
The Spiritual Realm
The spiritual realm is just as orderly as is the physical realm, and it always operates
according to unchangeable laws and principles. God told us about these laws in the
Bible. His commandments are simply a description of how the spiritual realm operates.
When He said not to lie, He was saying, “Don’t lie; because if you do, something bad
will happen to you." It is the same as God saying, “Don’t step off the roof, because
something bad will happen if you do.” In the physical realm, nobody ever defied the
law of gravity. The spiritual realm is just as sure, and so nobody ever gets away with
lying or anything else that goes against the laws of God. You see, the laws of God
always operate. There is always a consequence. Disobeying God’s warning is what we
call sin. When we sin, we will always reap harmful consequences. The consequences
are often less immediate and less easy to connect to our specific misdeed than when we
are reaping from physical laws, but they are just as sure.
The Psychological Realm
The third aspect of reality is the psychological realm. The psychological realm operates
in accordance with our own powers and abilities. Our habits, our intellect, and our own
willpower are aspects of the psychological realm. Our willpower has been given to us
as a tool to manage this psychological realm, and it has authority there.
We Have Made A Huge Mistake
But we have made a huge mistake, because we have believed that our willpower also has
authority in the spiritual realm. However, our willpower only has authority in the
psychological realm. We cannot overcome or defy the physical laws or spiritual laws
with our willpower.
Our willpower is ineffective in defying the laws of the physical realm, and it was never
given to us for this purpose. We cannot fly by flapping our arms. We can will it, but
we cannot perform it.
What is perhaps even harder to understand is that our willpower is as ineffective in the
spiritual realm as it is in the physical realm. It was never given to us for the purpose of
managing the spiritual realm. We discover that no matter how hard we want to do the
good that we ought to, we cannot. Our failure to do the good that we want to do is not
due to a lack of willpower, it is due to our misunderstanding about reality. We are under
the illusion that we ought to be able to "will" it and then be able to do it.
Jesus says that the only way we can truly keep the laws of God is to be changed into
His image:
Jesus did not say, “You shall behave perfectly," but rather He said, "You shall be
perfect" (be like Me). We will have a new existence, a new nature. We will be like
Him! "Being" like Jesus leads to, and results in, "behavior" like Jesus.
Let’s imagine the following example to demonstrate our willpower’s absolute inability to
be productive in the spiritual realm. Picture an ant standing on a highway. A huge truck
is coming his way at full speed, and the ant thinks he can stop it. This ant doesn’t stand
a chance!
STOP! -----
The ant's degree of failure is at the same level as our failure to stop the operation of God’
s laws with our own willpower! Yet we have been under the delusion that we can do
so. And much worse, we think that God has expected us to be able to do so!
The Illusion Of Our Willpower
In today’s culture, we are taught that the only things we can trust are willpower and
intellect. The heart, and anything that we cannot consciously understand or control
(such as our emotions), is seen as untrustworthy, or even, perhaps as bad. We are
stuck in this delusion. Our trust is so firmly entrenched in our willpower and intellect
that whenever we are in need, without thinking, we automatically rely on our willpower
and intellect.
The bumper sticker that says "Just Say No" is a perfect example of this. If people who
were hooked on drugs could "Just Say No," many would. Many try - and fail, over and
over again. Their failure is the result of "trying hard" to quit - making a decision with
their intellect and relying on their willpower to bring it to pass. They are doomed to
failure because of what we have just seen about God's laws. This misunderstanding is a
big problem, and it is rampant in the Church. The Bible makes very powerful
statements regarding the illusion of our will. It is a universal flaw in mankind to think
we can manage our own life in our own strength.
We may now be tempted to say, "What’s the use? I might as well give up." But there is
a way to obey the Lord. We just need to understand that Jesus has made a way for us.
There Are Two Ways To Stop Bad Behavior
When we recognize undesirable behavior, we have probably thought that the only one
way to stop it was through our willpower in the psychological realm. But it should now
be clear that there are two ways, because there are two possible sources of the bad
behavior, the psychological realm and the spiritual realm. To stop the undesirable
behavior we need to use the "tool" that is effective in that particular realm.
Which Tool Should I Use?
You would not be very successful in splitting wood with a watchmaker's screwdriver,
nor would you be successful in repairing a watch with an axe. We need to use the right
tool for the job.
If we have "tried" to change our behavior by using our willpower (psychological realm),
but the bad behavior (bad fruit) has continued, we have simply been using the wrong
"tool." Since our willpower was ineffective, we now know we are dealing with a
spiritual problem.
In the past we may have thought the only option available was our willpower. Our
willpower is not useless. It has a job to do, but its area of authority is in the
psychological realm, not the spiritual realm. Both a watchmaker's screwdriver and an
axe have a purpose.
Bad Roots and Bad Fruit
When we sin and plant an area of wounding in our heart, the sin dwelling in that area
can be called a "bad root." By their very nature, bad roots produce "bad fruit," whereas
"good roots" produce "good fruit."
Track Backward From-Fruit-To-Root
Once you realize that your willpower can’t stop the bad behavior, you can recognize
that you are dealing with a spiritual problem in your life (bad fruit). Then you must find
the source (the bad root). You must track backward from the bad fruit to the bad root
(from the behavior to the cause).
Summary
God created an orderly universe that operates in accordance with unchangeable laws.
God knew how helpless we were, so Jesus came to rescue us from this impossible
situation.
Reflection:
Identify a specific example from each realm of reality:
Physical, Spiritual, Psychological
How does the awareness that there are three different realms change things for
you?
What options do you have when faced with undesirable behavior?
Why You Are Stuck
God’s Laws At Work
- For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not
practice; but what I hate, that I do (Romans 7:15).
God knows that you continually fail, and He wants it to be different. He wants so much
to set you free from this bondage that He sent Jesus to make it possible.
There is a reason why we are stuck doing what we don't want to do, and I will explain
why.
The Reality God Created
When God created the universe, He created it to operate in an orderly way in
accordance with unchangeable laws. There are three aspects, or realms, to the reality
we experience:
- 1. The physical
2. The spiritual
3. The psychological
The Physical Realm
We can all see the orderliness of the physical realm. The physical laws, such as those
of physics, chemistry, and mathematics, are unchangeable. We may not fully
understand them, and we may misapply them, but they still operate all the time.
For example, if I were to go onto the roof of my house, convinced that I can fly, flap
my arms really hard and step off the roof, I would make a discovery. I would discover
myself lying on the ground with a broken leg. It wouldn’t matter whether I knew about
the law of gravity or not. It wouldn’t matter if I understood it, or whether I agreed with
it, or whether I believed in it. It wouldn’t matter how much faith I had that gravity didn’
t apply to me. My broken leg wouldn't mean God was angry with me. I didn’t break
God’s law, all I did was demonstrate it. The law of gravity is constant. There are no
exceptions.
The Spiritual Realm
The spiritual realm is just as orderly as is the physical realm, and it always operates
according to unchangeable laws and principles. God told us about these laws in the
Bible. His commandments are simply a description of how the spiritual realm operates.
When He said not to lie, He was saying, “Don’t lie; because if you do, something bad
will happen to you." It is the same as God saying, “Don’t step off the roof, because
something bad will happen if you do.” In the physical realm, nobody ever defied the
law of gravity. The spiritual realm is just as sure, and so nobody ever gets away with
lying or anything else that goes against the laws of God. You see, the laws of God
always operate. There is always a consequence. Disobeying God’s warning is what we
call sin. When we sin, we will always reap harmful consequences. The consequences
are often less immediate and less easy to connect to our specific misdeed than when we
are reaping from physical laws, but they are just as sure.
The Psychological Realm
The third aspect of reality is the psychological realm. The psychological realm operates
in accordance with our own powers and abilities. Our habits, our intellect, and our own
willpower are aspects of the psychological realm. Our willpower has been given to us
as a tool to manage this psychological realm, and it has authority there.
We Have Made A Huge Mistake
But we have made a huge mistake, because we have believed that our willpower also has
authority in the spiritual realm. However, our willpower only has authority in the
psychological realm. We cannot overcome or defy the physical laws or spiritual laws
with our willpower.
Our willpower is ineffective in defying the laws of the physical realm, and it was never
given to us for this purpose. We cannot fly by flapping our arms. We can will it, but
we cannot perform it.
What is perhaps even harder to understand is that our willpower is as ineffective in the
spiritual realm as it is in the physical realm. It was never given to us for the purpose of
managing the spiritual realm. We discover that no matter how hard we want to do the
good that we ought to, we cannot. Our failure to do the good that we want to do is not
due to a lack of willpower, it is due to our misunderstanding about reality. We are under
the illusion that we ought to be able to "will" it and then be able to do it.
Jesus says that the only way we can truly keep the laws of God is to be changed into
His image:
- “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”
(Matthew 5:48 I added the bold).
Jesus did not say, “You shall behave perfectly," but rather He said, "You shall be
perfect" (be like Me). We will have a new existence, a new nature. We will be like
Him! "Being" like Jesus leads to, and results in, "behavior" like Jesus.
Let’s imagine the following example to demonstrate our willpower’s absolute inability to
be productive in the spiritual realm. Picture an ant standing on a highway. A huge truck
is coming his way at full speed, and the ant thinks he can stop it. This ant doesn’t stand
a chance!
STOP! -----
The ant's degree of failure is at the same level as our failure to stop the operation of God’
s laws with our own willpower! Yet we have been under the delusion that we can do
so. And much worse, we think that God has expected us to be able to do so!
The Illusion Of Our Willpower
In today’s culture, we are taught that the only things we can trust are willpower and
intellect. The heart, and anything that we cannot consciously understand or control
(such as our emotions), is seen as untrustworthy, or even, perhaps as bad. We are
stuck in this delusion. Our trust is so firmly entrenched in our willpower and intellect
that whenever we are in need, without thinking, we automatically rely on our willpower
and intellect.
The bumper sticker that says "Just Say No" is a perfect example of this. If people who
were hooked on drugs could "Just Say No," many would. Many try - and fail, over and
over again. Their failure is the result of "trying hard" to quit - making a decision with
their intellect and relying on their willpower to bring it to pass. They are doomed to
failure because of what we have just seen about God's laws. This misunderstanding is a
big problem, and it is rampant in the Church. The Bible makes very powerful
statements regarding the illusion of our will. It is a universal flaw in mankind to think
we can manage our own life in our own strength.
We may now be tempted to say, "What’s the use? I might as well give up." But there is
a way to obey the Lord. We just need to understand that Jesus has made a way for us.
There Are Two Ways To Stop Bad Behavior
When we recognize undesirable behavior, we have probably thought that the only one
way to stop it was through our willpower in the psychological realm. But it should now
be clear that there are two ways, because there are two possible sources of the bad
behavior, the psychological realm and the spiritual realm. To stop the undesirable
behavior we need to use the "tool" that is effective in that particular realm.
Which Tool Should I Use?
You would not be very successful in splitting wood with a watchmaker's screwdriver,
nor would you be successful in repairing a watch with an axe. We need to use the right
tool for the job.
If we have "tried" to change our behavior by using our willpower (psychological realm),
but the bad behavior (bad fruit) has continued, we have simply been using the wrong
"tool." Since our willpower was ineffective, we now know we are dealing with a
spiritual problem.
In the past we may have thought the only option available was our willpower. Our
willpower is not useless. It has a job to do, but its area of authority is in the
psychological realm, not the spiritual realm. Both a watchmaker's screwdriver and an
axe have a purpose.
Bad Roots and Bad Fruit
When we sin and plant an area of wounding in our heart, the sin dwelling in that area
can be called a "bad root." By their very nature, bad roots produce "bad fruit," whereas
"good roots" produce "good fruit."
- "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. . . .
Therefore by their fruits you will know them." (Matthew 7:17-18, 20).
Track Backward From-Fruit-To-Root
Once you realize that your willpower can’t stop the bad behavior, you can recognize
that you are dealing with a spiritual problem in your life (bad fruit). Then you must find
the source (the bad root). You must track backward from the bad fruit to the bad root
(from the behavior to the cause).
Summary
God created an orderly universe that operates in accordance with unchangeable laws.
God knew how helpless we were, so Jesus came to rescue us from this impossible
situation.
Reflection:
Identify a specific example from each realm of reality:
Physical, Spiritual, Psychological
How does the awareness that there are three different realms change things for
you?
What options do you have when faced with undesirable behavior?
Divinely Designed
Being changed into the image of Jesus
A miracle can happen to you, like the transformation that
happens when a worm is transformed into a butterfly
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
Being changed into the image of Jesus
A miracle can happen to you, like the transformation that
happens when a worm is transformed into a butterfly
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
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