You Can’t Fix Yourself

Scripture: 

Ephesians 5:25–27

“…that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…”

When the check engine light comes on, most of us can’t fix the car ourselves. We need a mechanic. Spiritually, it’s the same. You can’t just “try harder” to be holy. Only Jesus can make you presentable before God. We try to patch ourselves up — hide the issues, control the damage — but self-repair doesn’t change the heart.

God’s desire is not for you to show up perfect, but surrendered. He’s the One who cleans, restores, and prepares us. The longer we try to do it alone, the longer we delay real transformation.

Reflection Questions:

1. Where have I been trying to “fix myself” without bringing it to Jesus?

2. How would my approach change if I trusted Him to do the deep work?

3. What would surrender in this area look like?

Prayer:

Jesus, I can’t fix myself. I need You to do what only You can do — cleanse me, renew me, make me whole. Help me to stop pretending I’m fine and instead bring the real me to You. Amen.

Action Step: Pick one “self-repair” habit (hiding, avoiding, people-pleasing) and lay it down in prayer today.