For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13 NLT

Of all the promises of God, this is one of my favorites. I know that through the Holy Spirit, God changes the desire of our hearts, but isn't it reassuring to know that as He changes our desire he also gives us the power, through Jesus to actually do the things that please Him.
Paul said, "the things I hate I find myself doing, and the things I want to do I don't." (para-phrased). I often find myself in the same position, but it's because "I" am trying to do these things often times on my own. If I could learn to relax in the Lord, and give Him control over my desire's, then I would be in the position to receive power from the Holy Spirit to actually carry out the things that are pleasing to God.
I could try to open this up and explain it all day, but Paul explained it very clearly in Galatians, so I will simply write what he wrote about 2000 years ago. Amazing how relevant to our lives it still is, after all this time:
"So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. the sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are oppoaite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other dins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous on one another." Galatians 5:16-26
So God actually gives us the desire to leave our sinful nature behind and the power to receive fruit from the Holy Spirit, which is pleasing to Him. How awesome is that? Another example of grace. This type of change isn't even possible on our own, the desire to change and the power to follow through, all come from God.
If you're tired of living without joy, peace, kindness or any of the other fruits of the Holy Spirit in your life, click on one of the church links on this page. If you need prayer or just want someone to talk to, contact me at rlwhitener@gmail.com Please include prayer request in the subject line.
Thanks for following along,
God Bless!