Self-effort thoughts derail us from His paths of righteousness. They take our focus off the Lord Who can do all things. They draw us into mental dialogues of trying to figure something out through any possibility. That is our way.

Psalm 18:30 says, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” Self-effort is leaning on our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5. Trust comes from a heart that is willing to wait, undergoing the metamorphosis needed to be who He created us to be and do.

All the caterpillar can think about is eating leaves…until. One day it seeks out a branch and spins a cocoon. Inside the caterpillar melts and God miraculously forms the butterfly. The old has passed away and the new emerges. The butterfly does not think at all like the caterpillar. At salvation, we pass from darkness to light. We are no longer controlled by the prince of the power of the air. Ephesians 2:3-4.