As I review Dallas Willard's "Renovation of the Heart" and preach through the Virtues of the Heart sermon series, it has become more obvious to me that one of the chief hindrances to our spiritual growth is this: in our desire to become holy, and in our attempts to overcome our sin, we try too hard in our own strength, through our own efforts, rather than rest in the Holy Spirit to change us on the inside.
This is so often misunderstood. God's way for us to gain more love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control and humilty and hope is not to try harder and do more and work more diligently in our own strength. We can do it for awhile, but it won't last very long. God's plan to develop His fruit, His virtue, in us is that we abide in the Vine and stay filled with the Spirit, and then, through spiritual disciplines, let God do in us what we cannot accomplish by direct effort. Once the internal foundation of surrender to the Spirit's control is in place, then all the external choices we make to grow in obedience to God (fasting, Scripture memory, silence and solitude, service, etc.) will help to amplify and accelerate our internal transformation to Christlikeness.
But it has to start with "cease striving and know that I am God ... not you!"
