Hey friend, if you’d rather listen than read, you can press play and join me for today’s devotion, “Willpower vs. Spirit Power.”

Take a breath, find a quiet spot, and let these words meet you right where you are.

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.
— Zechariah 4:6

Have you ever tried to be strong for so long, that the strength itself started breaking you?

That was me. I’m naturally driven. Resilient. I know how to push through and hold it all together. I wore that like a badge of honor for years.

But eventually, my strength betrayed me.

Fear crept in. Control slipped through my fingers. And instead of letting go, I did what I’d always done: I tried harder. More grit. More willpower. More doing. But human strength…no matter how good the intentions…always runs dry.

When Grit Becomes a Trap

Willpower looks impressive for a while. It’s polished. Productive. Capable. It keeps things afloat and everyone convinced you’re fine. But underneath the hustle, it’s fear. Fear of failing. Fear of losing control. Fear that if you stop trying, everything will fall apart. I lived in that space until I finally cracked. Not dramatically. Quietly. The way exhaustion settles into your bones and steals your hope one slow day at a time.

When God Met Me in the Crash

I know the difference between willpower and Spirit power because I’ve lived both.

The illusion of control had me running in circles; spinning, toiling, fixating on outcomes I couldn’t actually guarantee. I was exhausting myself in places God never asked me to go. I spent energy where I had no business being, until I crashed.

And when God eventually called me to something new, I didn’t have anything left to give. I was so bruised from my own striving that I couldn’t even receive His invitation. I was afraid. Afraid of failing again. Afraid of looking foolish. Afraid that maybe… I had already missed it.

That’s when the enemy starts whispering: You’re not capable. You’re not enough. You’ll just mess it up again. What’s the point?

Hopelessness sets in quietly. But it spreads fast. It numbs your sense of purpose. It steals your will to try again. Before you know it, you’re just going through the motions. And that’s exactly what happened to me.

I stopped pouring into women I loved. I pulled back from discipling my kids the way I knew I was called to. I told myself I was “just busy,” but deep down, I had slipped into something darker.

I wasn’t just tired. I was done.

Any exit sounded like relief.

That’s what despair does. It numbs your will to keep fighting. It whispers that escape is the only way forward. It makes peace seem unreachable unless something drastic changes.

But God met me right there…in the numbness, in the shutdown.
And He didn’t ask me to get stronger. He simply asked me to come to Him.

That moment wasn’t about giving up.
It was about giving in to a strength that wasn’t mine.

When God First Spoke Those Words

That verse, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit”, was spoken to a man named Zerubbabel, a leader called to rebuild the temple after exile. What God asked of him looked impossible. The people were tired, the resources scarce, and the work kept stalling. Zerubbabel was running on human effort, trying to finish something only heaven could sustain.

In the middle of that discouragement, God gave the prophet Zechariah a vision. He saw a golden lampstand with seven lamps, continually burning, and on either side stood two olive trees, their branches feeding the lamps with a steady stream of oil. There were no priests rushing to refill the bowls, no frantic striving to keep the flame alive. The oil flowed directly from the source.

That was God’s message to Zerubbabel. The lamps represented God’s people, the light bearers. The oil symbolized His Spirit, the endless supply. It was a living illustration that what God starts, He sustains. The fire doesn’t burn because of your effort; it burns because of your connection.

What It Means for Us

That same truth holds now. Through Jesus, the temple is no longer made of stone; it’s made of hearts. We are the lampstands. The Holy Spirit is the oil flowing through us. The same power that kept those lamps burning is what keeps your light from going out when life feels dark.

You don’t have to produce the oil. You just have to stay connected to the tree. The Spirit still supplies what human strength cannot: steady light, steady grace, steady peace.

So when your flame flickers, don’t panic. It’s not proof you’re failing; it’s proof you need filling. Come close to the Source again. Let the oil flow.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…”
— Acts 1:8

The Spirit’s Power > Self Power

We throw around the phrase “Holy Spirit power” like it’s a boost of motivation.
But it’s not energy. It’s His presence. He doesn’t hype you up…He holds you together.

Here’s what I had to learn the hard way:

Human Willpower	Holy Spirit Power
Strives to control outcomes	Surrenders outcomes to God
Fueled by fear of failure	Anchored in faith and peace
Runs on adrenaline and effort	Flows from rest and reliance
Ends in burnout and resentment	Produces fruit that lasts
Says “I’ve got this”	Says “God, I need You”
Focused on image + outcome	Focused on obedience + intimacy

Willpower wears you out.
The Spirit holds you together.

When You’re Ready to Let Go

If you’re feeling the unraveling… it might not be failure.
It might just be God showing you the limits of your own strength so you’ll finally receive His. You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through this. You don’t have to “be strong for everyone.”
You get to lean.

Not by your might.
Not by your power.
But by His Spirit.

Reset Question This Week

If your strength has been running on fumes lately, it’s not because you’ve failed; it’s because the light you’re carrying was never meant to burn on self-supply. The same Spirit that filled the temple now fills you. The oil still flows, but only when you pause long enough to receive it.

Think about where you’ve been trying to “keep the lamp burning” through your own effort: controlling outcomes, managing everyone’s emotions, or simply holding things together because no one else will. Those are the very places God is inviting you to exchange grit for grace, hustle for Holy Spirit flow.

You don’t have to refill your own lamp. You just have to stay near the tree.

Freebie This Week: Full Sound Mind Playlist

To help you rest and refocus, I’ve put together a Sound Mind Playlist: worship songs that echo the message of the book and remind you where real strength comes from.

These songs became my soundtrack in a season when my own strength ran out.
When I couldn’t think my way out, sing my way through, or fix myself up… the Spirit met me in the music.

If you’ve been running on empty, this one’s for you.
Let the lyrics lead you back to peace, and let the Spirit do what willpower never could.

🎧 The Sound Mind Playlist (and all other free resources) are available inside The Reset Room: my private library of tools, devotionals, and downloads.
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