God Doesn't Fix You
I’ve recently had something burning on my heart to share. Some may not agree with me, and that's ok, but I'm going to share it because I believe it reveals simultaneously one of the biggest misconceptions that believers (and non-believers) have about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Christianity, as well as one of the best kept secrets of living the Christian life. I think if more people understood this concept in their own lives, it would revolutionize their walk and life, and in turn, dramatically change the way the world sees us and Jesus!
Some of you may know of a gentleman who lived in Moses Lake for many years named Mike Willey. A few weeks ago, he went home to be with the Lord. When I heard about his passing, even though I hadn’t seen him for many years, I began thinking about his profound influence on my life.
When I was a teenager, Mike came up to Wenatchee to share some of his teaching. He described to us an analogy that has really stuck with me over the years, and has also really proven to be true over and over again in my life.
Imagine with me that you had a can of blue paint, and someone came in, maliciously, and poured a can of yellow paint into your blue paint. This would leave you with a can of green paint, right?
The trouble is, there's no amount of sitting down and trying to pull out every speck of yellow paint that will give you your pure can of blue paint back. What’s done is done; that can of paint will now forever be a can of green paint.
Some of you may know of a gentleman who lived in Moses Lake for many years named Mike Willey. A few weeks ago, he went home to be with the Lord. When I heard about his passing, even though I hadn’t seen him for many years, I began thinking about his profound influence on my life.
When I was a teenager, Mike came up to Wenatchee to share some of his teaching. He described to us an analogy that has really stuck with me over the years, and has also really proven to be true over and over again in my life.
Imagine with me that you had a can of blue paint, and someone came in, maliciously, and poured a can of yellow paint into your blue paint. This would leave you with a can of green paint, right?
The trouble is, there's no amount of sitting down and trying to pull out every speck of yellow paint that will give you your pure can of blue paint back. What’s done is done; that can of paint will now forever be a can of green paint.
Now think about the fall of mankind. When satan deceived Eve and Adam and sin entered the flesh, it was very similar to what happened with the paint. God had created something so pure and perfect in Adam and Eve, like cans of blue paint, but satan had poured in yellow when he caused them to sin and turn away from God, and from that point forward ALL flesh was permanently corrupted.
All of that makes sense right?
Well, what I see in many Christians is this expectation that when they accepted Jesus, God was going to “fix” them. But God isn’t in the business of sitting down and picking out every speck of yellow paint from your sinful, fallen flesh. Instead, when Jesus died on the cross and released the Holy Spirit, those who believe in Him get A NEW CAN OF PAINT. When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside you, it comes with all of the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) PRE-INSTALLED. Absolutely everything you need to live the Christian life is available to you through the Holy Spirit.
All of that makes sense right?
Well, what I see in many Christians is this expectation that when they accepted Jesus, God was going to “fix” them. But God isn’t in the business of sitting down and picking out every speck of yellow paint from your sinful, fallen flesh. Instead, when Jesus died on the cross and released the Holy Spirit, those who believe in Him get A NEW CAN OF PAINT. When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside you, it comes with all of the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) PRE-INSTALLED. Absolutely everything you need to live the Christian life is available to you through the Holy Spirit.
The catch?
You must choose which can to paint with.
Every minute of every day you have a choice to paint with either your fallen, sinful flesh of green paint, or with the new can of blue paint granted to you by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
IT’S A DAILY (MINUTE BY MINUTE) CHOICE!
So, when you accept Jesus as Lord into your life, He doesn’t just snap his fingers and “fix” you. You received the Holy Spirit (new can of paint), but your old flesh is still there. This is so important to understand. Every aspect of your sinful fallen flesh will be there, unchanged, for the rest of your life. (Read that sentence again.)
This explains why we can see people who accept the gospel and get baptized, but never change, or see someone who’s been a Christian for years but is still struggling with old sins. Sadly, too many preachers either preach fear (eternal damnation) or “ticket to heaven” type gospels, or even more common is the teaching of “now that you’re a believer, read all these rules from the bible and just do them.” None of these things work to transform lives. Still not convinced? You can read about the nearly two thousand years of the old testament Law that show us sinful fallen humans simply CANNOT live up to the right and wrong rules of religion. Or look at someone who receives the gospel just because they don’t want to go to hell, or think the only thing about the Christian life is “getting to heaven” and take note of how powerless those concepts are to help someone truly change!
But in all of these examples, believers and non-believers alike, the difference is this:
They received the new blue can of paint, but either never opened it, or were never shown how to paint with it.
So let’s talk about those two things:
Opening Your New Can of Paint:
I think the goal of every Christian would be to keep their new fresh pure can of blue paint open permanently, and their old green can of paint closed. But at some point we have to sleep... so invariably our flesh will likely be the first thing that greets us when we wake up in the morning. This is why spending time with the Lord first thing in the morning has the most powerful effect on most people. Even if it’s just 10 minutes of time in the Word, or singing some lines from a worship song while you’re in the shower. Maybe it’s just saying “Lord, Jesus, I love you!” (offering Him the “first-fruits” of your lips before you say anything else), before your feet hit the floor, that act alone is like opening your can of paint and can set up the rest of your day.
(Note: spending time with God (in any form) doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning, it can be anytime, but doing it daily is extremely important. A daily habit can make those initial moments of the day easier so that when you first open your eyes, you can inwardly turn your heart to God and grab hold of your blue paint brush!)
Maybe this isn’t something you’ve ever done! Well, don’t worry! You can start any time! You don’t have to be skilled in praying or knowledgeable in the bible. Maybe your morning prayer is: “Hi God, thanks for loving me!” Or “Yo, can You help me make it through today cuz I could really use Your help!” Also, and this may be the most important thing to get if you don’t get anything else: you DON’T have to have your life together or not be “sinning” to start. HEAR THIS: YOU DON’T HAVE TO FIX YOURSELF TO START SPENDING TIME WITH GOD!
EVEN GOD ISN’T IN THE BUSINESS OF FIXING YOU, SO WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO FIX YOURSELF?
Isn’t that good news? It may be discouraging to hear that your sinful flesh is as permanent as your can of green paint is. But it should be beyond incredible to hear that this means it doesn’t need to be fixed. You can live (and paint) from a NEW LIFE that is available from within!!!
So let’s talk about the second thing - HOW do you go about switching paint cans?
It’s SOOOO SIMPLE!!!
(Note: I didn’t say easy.)
The most practical way that I switch paint cans is by saying the Name, “Lord, Jesus!”
That’s it.
Now I’m not referring to how people use His name as a curse word. If that’s something you struggle with, then hopefully practicing it like you’re actually calling a Real Person (cuz you are) will help you stop saying it nonchalantly.
I imagine you’re thinking “yeah, right, just saying a name is going to suddenly change my paint can?”
Well, remember I said it’s simple... not easy.
The reason it’s not easy is because our flesh has a TIGHT grip on the green paint brush. Our grip is incredibly tight with our desire to “be right”, or “be heard” or “be angry” or “be offended”. We want what we want, in any given moment. And CHOOSING (there’s that “choice” thing again) to say the name of Jesus is an act of letting go of our paint brush. It’s a choice to let go of being right, or judging someone else, or saying that thing you soooo want to say, or doing that thing you feel you can’t resist doing. The act of choosing to INTENTIONALLY call “Lord, Jesus” is often referred to as “dying to self”. And that, my friends, is harder than it sounds. See it’s not just saying a name and then proceeding with whatever you want to do. It’s intentionally saying a name and turning your heart inward, recognizing that He is ever present within you, He is seeing and experiencing everything you are (including your pain, anger or sadness), He knows your heart and knows what you need, and you’re saying to Him: “Lord, Jesus... take over.”
What happens when you do this is... profound. It’s downright supernatural. This is where things change in you that you never thought possible. This is where your reactions suddenly die down and something else rises within you... someONE rises within you. You will experience new “eyesight” for people around you. You’ll begin to see them the way God sees them - as hurting, broken people who are, in turn, hurting others. You’ll begin to experience this unbelievable love for others that is completely unmerited, unexplainable.
One final note: this is a practiced thing. If you start to do this in your daily life, you’ll start to understand why I say “it’s simple, but not easy”, but you’ll also start to experience how incredible it is. Over time, your green can of paint will start to be less useful and you’ll stop wanting to paint with it. You might end up keeping that lid closed more often, or maybe even storing it. But always remember if you open that green can lid, everything in it will still be sinful, unchanged and corrupt. Your flesh will never get fixed.
So... in summary... the biggest myth of the christian is that God fixes people and over time they’ll “be better”. No, your flesh will never be better - stop thinking it will and especially stop relying on it to be. Instead learn the most important, yet rarely understood, truth that will transform your daily experience: God gave you a NEW LIFE! A NEW CAN OF PAINT! It’s time for you to consider your old “green” self to be “dead” (permanently corrupt, stop painting with it) and turn to the new, fresh, living and empowering Life within. Paint with that “blue” brush, and watch not only your experience with “yourself” but the whole world and all your relationships change color before your eyes!
Renée D Henderson
Aug 18, 2023
You must choose which can to paint with.
Every minute of every day you have a choice to paint with either your fallen, sinful flesh of green paint, or with the new can of blue paint granted to you by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
IT’S A DAILY (MINUTE BY MINUTE) CHOICE!
So, when you accept Jesus as Lord into your life, He doesn’t just snap his fingers and “fix” you. You received the Holy Spirit (new can of paint), but your old flesh is still there. This is so important to understand. Every aspect of your sinful fallen flesh will be there, unchanged, for the rest of your life. (Read that sentence again.)
This explains why we can see people who accept the gospel and get baptized, but never change, or see someone who’s been a Christian for years but is still struggling with old sins. Sadly, too many preachers either preach fear (eternal damnation) or “ticket to heaven” type gospels, or even more common is the teaching of “now that you’re a believer, read all these rules from the bible and just do them.” None of these things work to transform lives. Still not convinced? You can read about the nearly two thousand years of the old testament Law that show us sinful fallen humans simply CANNOT live up to the right and wrong rules of religion. Or look at someone who receives the gospel just because they don’t want to go to hell, or think the only thing about the Christian life is “getting to heaven” and take note of how powerless those concepts are to help someone truly change!
But in all of these examples, believers and non-believers alike, the difference is this:
They received the new blue can of paint, but either never opened it, or were never shown how to paint with it.
So let’s talk about those two things:
Opening Your New Can of Paint:
I think the goal of every Christian would be to keep their new fresh pure can of blue paint open permanently, and their old green can of paint closed. But at some point we have to sleep... so invariably our flesh will likely be the first thing that greets us when we wake up in the morning. This is why spending time with the Lord first thing in the morning has the most powerful effect on most people. Even if it’s just 10 minutes of time in the Word, or singing some lines from a worship song while you’re in the shower. Maybe it’s just saying “Lord, Jesus, I love you!” (offering Him the “first-fruits” of your lips before you say anything else), before your feet hit the floor, that act alone is like opening your can of paint and can set up the rest of your day.
(Note: spending time with God (in any form) doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning, it can be anytime, but doing it daily is extremely important. A daily habit can make those initial moments of the day easier so that when you first open your eyes, you can inwardly turn your heart to God and grab hold of your blue paint brush!)
Maybe this isn’t something you’ve ever done! Well, don’t worry! You can start any time! You don’t have to be skilled in praying or knowledgeable in the bible. Maybe your morning prayer is: “Hi God, thanks for loving me!” Or “Yo, can You help me make it through today cuz I could really use Your help!” Also, and this may be the most important thing to get if you don’t get anything else: you DON’T have to have your life together or not be “sinning” to start. HEAR THIS: YOU DON’T HAVE TO FIX YOURSELF TO START SPENDING TIME WITH GOD!
EVEN GOD ISN’T IN THE BUSINESS OF FIXING YOU, SO WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO FIX YOURSELF?
Isn’t that good news? It may be discouraging to hear that your sinful flesh is as permanent as your can of green paint is. But it should be beyond incredible to hear that this means it doesn’t need to be fixed. You can live (and paint) from a NEW LIFE that is available from within!!!
So let’s talk about the second thing - HOW do you go about switching paint cans?
It’s SOOOO SIMPLE!!!
(Note: I didn’t say easy.)
The most practical way that I switch paint cans is by saying the Name, “Lord, Jesus!”
That’s it.
Now I’m not referring to how people use His name as a curse word. If that’s something you struggle with, then hopefully practicing it like you’re actually calling a Real Person (cuz you are) will help you stop saying it nonchalantly.
I imagine you’re thinking “yeah, right, just saying a name is going to suddenly change my paint can?”
Well, remember I said it’s simple... not easy.
The reason it’s not easy is because our flesh has a TIGHT grip on the green paint brush. Our grip is incredibly tight with our desire to “be right”, or “be heard” or “be angry” or “be offended”. We want what we want, in any given moment. And CHOOSING (there’s that “choice” thing again) to say the name of Jesus is an act of letting go of our paint brush. It’s a choice to let go of being right, or judging someone else, or saying that thing you soooo want to say, or doing that thing you feel you can’t resist doing. The act of choosing to INTENTIONALLY call “Lord, Jesus” is often referred to as “dying to self”. And that, my friends, is harder than it sounds. See it’s not just saying a name and then proceeding with whatever you want to do. It’s intentionally saying a name and turning your heart inward, recognizing that He is ever present within you, He is seeing and experiencing everything you are (including your pain, anger or sadness), He knows your heart and knows what you need, and you’re saying to Him: “Lord, Jesus... take over.”
What happens when you do this is... profound. It’s downright supernatural. This is where things change in you that you never thought possible. This is where your reactions suddenly die down and something else rises within you... someONE rises within you. You will experience new “eyesight” for people around you. You’ll begin to see them the way God sees them - as hurting, broken people who are, in turn, hurting others. You’ll begin to experience this unbelievable love for others that is completely unmerited, unexplainable.
One final note: this is a practiced thing. If you start to do this in your daily life, you’ll start to understand why I say “it’s simple, but not easy”, but you’ll also start to experience how incredible it is. Over time, your green can of paint will start to be less useful and you’ll stop wanting to paint with it. You might end up keeping that lid closed more often, or maybe even storing it. But always remember if you open that green can lid, everything in it will still be sinful, unchanged and corrupt. Your flesh will never get fixed.
So... in summary... the biggest myth of the christian is that God fixes people and over time they’ll “be better”. No, your flesh will never be better - stop thinking it will and especially stop relying on it to be. Instead learn the most important, yet rarely understood, truth that will transform your daily experience: God gave you a NEW LIFE! A NEW CAN OF PAINT! It’s time for you to consider your old “green” self to be “dead” (permanently corrupt, stop painting with it) and turn to the new, fresh, living and empowering Life within. Paint with that “blue” brush, and watch not only your experience with “yourself” but the whole world and all your relationships change color before your eyes!
Renée D Henderson
Aug 18, 2023
References:
- Romans 6:6 “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.”
- Romans 6:11 “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
- Romans 6:13-14 “No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
- 1st Corinthians 12:3 "...no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit."
- 1st Corinthians 15:21-22 "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive."
- 1st Corinthians 15:45 "The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit."
- Galatians 5:1 "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
- Galatians 5:16-26 “16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.”
- Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
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3 Comments
Well said sis!!
Thanks Renee for sharing this. Great way to share this. Lord, bless these words and open eyes to set ones free. You are faithful.
SO faithful is the Lord! Thank you kindly for sharing!