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The reason people struggle to stop doing the bad things they say they want to stop is that their choosing capacity is not an independent part of them that lives in a separate room of their house and can just choose the right thing no matter what is going on in other rooms of their house.
What this means is that will alone cannot carry us to change because our will is dependent on what we think and feel and believe in the moment of choice. So before we can choose the right behavior, we have to first choose to think, feel, and believe the right things.
The transformed will is surrendered to Christ and chooses to discover the will of God. After we have discerned what the good will of God is, we can give God permission to work in us the willing and doing for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
Every day, in every situation in which you face a decision, ask yourself what your options are. When it becomes clear to you which option would bring God pleasure and fulfill His will most fully, ask yourself if you are willing to choose that option. If you are not willing, ask yourself if you would be willing to give God permission to work in you the willing and doing of God’s good pleasure.