Can We Fix Ourselves Spiritually?
October 7, 2026
WELCOME
Welcome, everyone. I’m glad you’re here. It is always good to take some time to pause, give thanks, and give praise to God.
Father, right now I want to thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace. Thank You for always being with us, for showing up, and for never leaving us nor forsaking us. You said that even when mother and father forsake us, You will take us up.
It is so good to know that You are Jehovah Shammah—the Lord who is there—and that there is nothing we need that You are not able to provide. You are Jehovah Jireh—the Lord our Provider.
Thank You for another time of devotion. May everyone who joins us today be encouraged.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO FIX?
Most of us have a list. We look at our spiritual lives and think, “I need to do better.”
Some of the things we most often try to fix are:
• The same sins, again and again. We repent, promise to do better, and sometimes find ourselves right back where we started.
• Our emotions. Fear, anger, loneliness, burnout, and discouragement. Sometimes we treat these feelings as proof that something is wrong with our faith.
• Our inconsistencies. We tell ourselves we need to pray more, read the Bible more, never miss church—and then feel guilty when we fall short.
• Our lack of visible progress. We wonder why we don’t seem to be growing, and we measure our spiritual progress by how we feel.
• Trying to do it alone. Many of us try to grow without guidance or community, and eventually it becomes lonely and exhausting.
Many Christian writers and teachers have described the same struggle: people trying hard to fix themselves and becoming worn out from all the striving.
But the message we keep coming back to is simple:
We cannot do it on our own—but God can.
SO WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
The resounding answer is this:
We cannot save or transform ourselves through our own efforts. But that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to sit back and do nothing.
Spiritual growth happens as we stay close to God and pursue Him, trusting that He is the One who does the changing in us.
WE CAN’T DO IT ON OUR OWN
Ephesians 2:8–9 — NLT | KJV, tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, so no one can boast.
Titus 3:5 — NLT | KJV, says that God saved us because of His mercy, not because of righteous things we had done.
Isaiah 64:6 — NLT | KJV, reminds us that even our own righteousness cannot compare with God’s holiness, while Psalm 143:2 — NLT | KJV, reminds us that no one living is righteous before Him.
In Galatians 3:3 — NLT | KJV, Paul challenges believers who began their Christian lives through the Spirit but were trying to continue through human effort.
And Jesus makes our dependence on Him unmistakably clear in John 15:5 — NLT | KJV:
“Apart from me you can do nothing.”
BUT WE’RE NOT PASSIVE
Philippians 2:12–13 — NLT | KJV, tells us to work out our salvation, but then explains something important: it is God who is working in us.
Our effort is real, but it is cooperation with God—not self-repair.
Paul wrestles with this struggle in Romans 7 — NLT | KJV. He wants to do what is right but discovers the limitations of relying on himself. Romans 8 — NLT | KJV, then points us toward life through Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Second 2 Corinthians 3:18 — NLT | KJV, tells us that we are being transformed into Christ’s likeness by the Spirit.
Transformation is something God does in us over time. It isn’t something we manufacture ourselves.
GROWTH IS REAL, EVEN WHEN WE CAN’T SEE IT
Spiritual growth often happens in small steps—like fruit slowly ripening on a tree.
Sometimes you may not recognize what God is doing while you are going through it.
Even difficult seasons can become part of the work God is doing in us.
PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE
Spiritual growth looks less like fixing ourselves and more like staying close to the One who does the fixing.
- We pray.
- We read Scripture.
- We confess.
- We stay connected to Christian community.
- We obey what God teaches us.
We don’t do these things to earn God’s approval.
We do them because we want to remain close to God and allow Him to continue His work in us.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father God, thank You today for Your goodness, mercy, and grace. Thank You that You don’t ask us to fix ourselves, because You know we can’t.
Forgive us for the times we’ve tried to do everything in our own strength. We admit that apart from You, we can do nothing. But we also thank You that You are working in us, shaping us and changing us day by day through Your Holy Spirit.
Help us stay close to You today. Draw us into Your Word, into prayer, and into Your presence. Teach us to do Your will, and give us hearts that are willing to follow wherever You lead.
We put our trust in You, not in ourselves. Finish the good work You started in us, and help our faith to become unshakable.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
TAKE THIS WITH YOU
Spiritual growth is less about fixing ourselves and more about staying close to the One who does the fixing. We pursue God, and He does the transforming in us.
Have a blessed day, everyone! May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rest and abide with you now and forevermore. Amen!