The Lie of Self-HelpSample

Broken Systems

When taking stock of where you’re headed in any area of your life, one question is paramount: “What are the destructive patterns or broken systems in my life that keep me confined to a life I don’t want to live?”

There is a gap between our desire to live powerfully and the reality of living in God’s grace and power. Systems exist in this gap—spiritual, emotional, and relational. By systems, I mean behavioral patterns that—whether good, bad, or ugly—shape us, guide us, and produce outcomes consistent with the system.

All our desire and best human effort can’t seem to overcome the gravitational pull of the broken systems that hold us down, like us kids who tried to fly by wildly flapping our arms, achieving only sheer exhaustion but with no liftoff. These hurtful and destructive systems need to be overthrown by God if you’re going to experience abundant life and grasp God’s promises.

When God’s people walked away from Him in the Old Testament, He sent the prophet Jeremiah to assess their emptiness with a bold statement:

“Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:12-13).

Jeremiah nailed it then, and his words ring true today. We’ve abandoned the God who wants to fill our lives and dismantle our self-constructed cisterns (systems) that can’t hold water. Instead, we’ve built systems for ourselves that can’t deliver what we’d hoped or what we need. We need to ask ourselves: What kind of life have I carved out for myself, and does it hold water?

Here are a few examples of the broken systems I’ve seen too many Christians struggle with:

• We lack essential spiritual disciplines, so we miss hearing God’s voice.
• We’re not mindful of who we are in Christ, so we give in to insecurity and inaction.
• We try to cover the tracks of our sin, so it ends up smothering us with shame.
• We have foolish friends, and when we attempt to make changes, we get pulled down to their level.
• We stop taking risks and settle for a life of mediocrity.
• We lack focus around our calling, so we don’t know where to aim our efforts.
• We don’t redeem the time, and our days are swallowed up by others’ expectations and squandered by our weaknesses.

So, take a look within yourself and consider the systems that work and those that are broken. It’s time to take an honest look at who you are, see how it’s working, agree with God on needed changes, and get moving in “His energy.” And here’s the hope we can hold on to—when we’ve come to the end of ourselves, we’re strategically positioned for God to show His power.

TIME TO LET GO:

• Take some time to identify one or two broken systems in your life that are holding you back from experiencing God’s promises for you (use the list above as a starting point).
• Confess this brokenness to God and ask for His grace and forgiveness to help you repair it.

This study is adapted from the book, The 7 Resolutions: Where Self-Help Ends and God’s Power Begins by Karl Clauson. Self-help is never going to get you to where you want to be, but God promises that our lives can be transformed. Take The 7 Resolutions assessment and learn how His power can change you. https://www.7resolutions.com/assessment