Transcript
Hello, and welcome to The Overflow Podcast. My name is Craig Booker. The title of this episode is Steps.
A lot of the material for this week’s episode was inspired by Pastor Craig Groeshel’s book The Power to Change Mastering the Habits That Matter Most.
Note: I will talk a lot about mental health, but please note this is not a substitute for therapy or mental health care. I am not a counselor or a physician. If you need help with mental health challenges, please find a qualified mental health professional.
The title of this episode is Steps.
Steps – Introduction
Last episode, we were talking about Renew, Remain, Acknowledge, and Ask. And this week we are kind of taking that further, and we’re talking about walking in the spirit. And this is sort of the send-off or the wrapping up of this book.
Craig Groeschel opens with a quote, and he says, “When you’re winning you’re winning uh when you’re losing you’re learning.”
Craig Groeschel opens this section by discussing how his kids started walking. Initially, they began crawling around and pulling themselves up on the couch. After some practice, they would cautiously begin to take steps. He describes them as baby Frankensteins. He would proudly look on as their father, cheering them on.
As we walk by the Spirit, it will probably feel weird or awkward at first. Feeling intimidated or strange as we start taking our first steps is okay. Remember, God is there cheering you on as you take your first steps walking in the Spirit.
As I said last week, this moment-by-moment dependence on God may be new to you. It could feel a bit awkward, and that’s okay. I assure you that you are not alone. I am learning each day to live out Galatians 5:16-17.
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
And so one of the things that main points that he goes over is we must remember to keep looking or to keep moving forward as we’re making progress in our habits and these the goals that we have things that we’re trying to achieve to improve our mental health.
Another quote from Craig Groeschel it says, “As you continue walking you’ll find that you’re moving out of your past and into your future.”
Some things that we need to remember is
- You’re walking into your future into the who you want to be.
- You’re walking away from sin or self-destructive behavior you want to leave behind.
- You’re walking toward the new habits and new life you have wanted for so long.
It says, “As we’ve learned it takes time to get to what you want most.”
We’ve talked about what we want now versus what we want most, and a lot of times, what we want now are the easy things. So there are the things that give us instant gratification versus what we want most, which usually you know the payoff for the benefits show up later, much later.
In this section, it says, “What you want now almost always has an immediate payoff!”
And get some examples here it says,
- The cookie tastes good now
- Sexual sin feels good now
- Sending that mean text when you are angry feels great now
- Buying the new car, even though you can’t afford it feels awesome now.
Another quote from Craig Groeschel says, “The desires of the flesh have an immediate payoff but what you want almost almost always takes time.”
“And you can have it, but not now. You walk there with the spirit while depending on God moment by moment, it will take time, but it will be worth it. You may miss out on some short-term fleeting satisfaction, but you’ll realize you chose the greater reward. You chose what you want most over what you want now.”
Exercise
We have another exercise. And it says, “Taking into account everything you have learned throughout the book and all that God has shown you as you work through every exercise, let’s calculate your next steps.
It says, “I know the first step I need to take in starting a new habit is” and it gives us a blank to fill in.
The second part is “I know the first step I need to take in stopping an old habit is, and then you fill in the [blank].”
It says, “The one change I believe God is calling me to make in his power, not my own is [blank].”
So this is the exercise kind of to wrap up this book to this point if you’ve not decided to start a new habit or stop an old one, this might be the good final push that you need to get started or to stop something that you’re trying to stop.
Principle
The principle for this section says, “When you’re winning, you’re winning, and when you’re losing, you’re learning.”
Colossians 2:6-7 of the New Living Translation says, “Now just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your lord you must continue to follow him let your roots grow down into him and let your lives be built on him then your faith will grow strong and the truth you were taught and you’ll overflow with thankfulness.”
Closing
That’s all for this episode. Thank you for watching. If you liked the video, give us a thumbs up, and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes.
Show Notes
“When you’re winning, you’re winning. When you’re losing, you’re learning.”1
Craig Groeschel
We must remember to keep moving forward.
Craig Groeschel
“As you continue walking, you’ll find that you are moving out of your past and into your future.”1
Remember
- You are walking into your future, into the who you want to be.
- You are walking away from the sin or self-destructive behavior you want to leave behind
- You are walking toward the new habits and new life you’ve wanted for so long.
“As we’ve learned, it takes time to get to what you want most.”
What you want now almost always has an immediate payoff.1
- That cookie tastes good now.
- Sexual sin feels good now.
- Sending that mean text when you are angry feels great now.
- Buying the new car, even though you can’t afford it, feels awe-
- some now.
“The desires of the flesh have an immediate payoff. But what you want most almost always takes time.”1
“You can have it! But not now. You walk there, with the Spirit, while depending on God, moment by moment. It will take time, but it will be worth it. You may miss out on some short-term fleeting satisfaction, but you will realize you chose the greater reward. You chose what you want most over what you want now.”1
Exercise
Taking into account everything you have learned throughout the book, and all that God has shown you as you’ve worked through every exercise, let’s calculate your next steps.1
I know the first step I need to take in starting a new habit is:
I know the first step I need to take in stopping an old habit is:
The one change I believe God is calling me to make- in his power, not my own_-is:
Principle
“When you’re winning, you’re winning.
When you’re losing, you’re learning.”1
“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6-7 NLT
Sources
[1] Groeschel, C. (2023). The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most. Zondervan.
