There's one change, one single shift that makes the Christian life go from impossible burden to natural expression. From constant striving to effortless flow. From exhausting discipline to joyful desire.
And most Christians never make this change because they've never been told what it is. Today, you're going to discover what that one change is. And when you make it, everything shifts.
Not gradual, instantly. The Christian life becomes what Jesus said it would be. Easy and light.
In Matthew 11:30, Jesus made a promise that most believers never experience. He said, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. " Easy.
Light. But for most Christians, the Christian life is neither. It's hard.
It's heavy. It's constant effort, endless striving, perpetual trying. They're working to be good enough, fighting to overcome sin, forcing themselves to pray and read the Bible, pushing themselves to obey.
And they're exhausted. Because they're living the Christian life from the wrong source. They're trying to produce what only Christ can live through them.
But there is one change that fixes all of that. One shift that makes everything natural. And when you make it, you'll discover what Jesus meant when he said his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
Let's start by identifying why the Christian life feels so unnatural for most believers. The reason is simple but devastating. They're trying to live the Christian life through their own effort instead of through Christ's life in them.
They're working to be like Jesus instead of letting Jesus live through them. They're striving to produce fruit instead of abiding in the vine. And that effort, that striving, that trying makes the Christian life feel forced, unnatural, exhausting.
Think about it. When you try to love people, it feels forced. When you try to be patient, you're fighting your natural reaction.
When you try to forgive, you're working against what you really feel. When you try to be holy, you're constantly aware of falling short. Everything is effort.
Everything is discipline. Everything is trying. And the more you try, the more exhausted you become.
Because you're attempting to live a supernatural life through natural ability. You're trying to produce divine fruit with human effort. And it doesn't work.
This is exactly what Paul describes in Romans 7. He tried to live righteously through his own effort. And Romans 7:18-19 records his testimony.
He says, "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do.
" He wanted to do good. He tried to do good, but he couldn't perform it. Why?
Because he was trying to live the Christian life through his own effort. And the flesh cannot produce what only the spirit can produce. Most Christians are living in Romans 7.
They know what's right. They want to do it. They try to do it, but they can't consistently perform it.
And they're frustrated. They feel like failures. They wonder what's wrong with them.
Why can't they live the Christian life the way they're supposed to? And the answer is devastating, but liberating. They can't because they were never meant to.
The Christian life was never designed to be lived by you. It was designed to be lived by Christ through you. E.
W. Kenyon understood this perfectly. He wrote, "The Christian life is not you trying to live like Christ.
It's Christ living his life through you. " The moment you understand that distinction, the moment you make that shift, everything changes. You stop trying to produce and start abiding.
You stop striving to become and start allowing him to be. And the Christian life becomes natural because it's not you living it. It's him.
The Christian life is not you trying to live like Christ. It's Christ living his life through you. That sentence should revolutionize your entire approach to Christianity.
Because if Christ is supposed to live through you, then trying to live it yourself is not just futile. It's the problem. So, what is the one change that makes the Christian life natural?
It's this. Shifting from self-effort to Christ-dependence. From trying in your own strength to abiding in his life.
From producing fruit through discipline to bearing fruit through connection. Let's define this precisely because this is the hinge on which everything turns. Self-effort is when you try to live the Christian life through your own strength, your your discipline, your own willpower.
You work to be patient. You strive to love. You force yourself to forgive.
You push yourself to pray. It's you trying to be like Jesus. Christ dependence is when you recognize that you can't live the Christian life, but Christ in you can.
And you shift from trying to abiding, from working to resting, from producing to receiving. It's Christ living through you. The key scripture is Galatians 2:20.
Paul says, "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Not I, but Christ. " Paul is saying, "It's not me living anymore.
It's Christ living through me. " That's not poetry. That's the revelation of how the Christian life works.
You don't live it. Christ lives it through you. And when you make that shift, when you stop trying and start abiding, everything becomes natural.
Let me show you exactly how this works practically. When you're operating from self effort, you wake up in the morning and think, "Today, I need to be patient. I need to love people.
I need to be holy. I need to pray. I need to read my Bible.
" And immediately, there's pressure. Immediately, there's burden. Because it's all on you.
You have to do it. You have to produce it. You have to perform it.
And by the end of the day, you failed somewhere. You weren't as patient as you should have been. You didn't love like you were supposed to, you didn't pray enough, and guilt sets in.
You resolve to try harder tomorrow, and the cycle continues. Exhausting effort, inevitable failure, guilt, resolution to try harder. Repeat.
But when you shift to Christ dependence, the morning looks completely different. You wake up and recognize Christ is in me. His life is my life.
His love flows through me. His patience operates in me. I'm not trying to be patient.
I'm abiding in him who is patient. I'm not working to love. I'm letting his love flow through me.
I'm not forcing myself to pray. I'm communing with my father because Christ in me desires that communion. Do you see the difference?
One is you trying to produce, the other is Christ living through you. One is forced effort, the other is natural expression. One is exhausting, the other is easy and light.
This is exactly what Jesus meant in John 15:5. When he said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.
For without me, ye can do nothing. " Abide in me, not try to be like me. Abide.
Stay connected. Remain. And as you abide, you bear fruit.
Not through trying, through abiding. The branch doesn't try to produce grapes. The branch stays connected to the vine, and grapes appear.
Why? Because the life of the vine flows through the branch. The branch isn't producing the fruit.
The vine is. The branch is just the vessel through which the vine's life expresses itself. That's exactly how the Christian life works.
You're the branch. Christ is the vine. You don't produce patience, love, holiness, or obedience.
You abide in him. Stay connected to him. And his life flows through you.
And patience appears. Love flows. Holiness expresses.
Obedience happens. Not because you tried, because you abided. Not because you worked, because you received.
Not because you produced, because Christ lived through you. Let me give you vivid examples of how this works in daily life. You're in a situation where someone wrongs you.
Your natural reaction is anger, hurt, maybe revenge. Now, from self-effort, you try to love that person. You force yourself to forgive.
You work to respond kindly. And it feels unnatural, forced, fake, because you're trying to produce something your flesh doesn't feel. But from Christ dependence, the approach is completely different.
You recognize, I can't love this person in my own strength, but Christ in me loves unconditionally. I'm going to abide in him. I'm going to let his love flow through me.
And you turn your focus to Christ. You think on his love. You remember how he forgave you.
And as you abide, as you stay connected to the vine, his love begins to flow. Not forced, natural, because it's not your love trying to forgive. It's his love flowing through your yielded heart.
Or you're facing a temptation. Your old approach from self-effort is to try not to sin, to resist with willpower, to discipline yourself. And sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail.
And it's exhausting either way. But from Christ dependence, temptation is met differently. I can't resist this in my own strength, but Christ in me is holy.
He's pure. He's not tempted by this. I'm going to abide in him.
I'm going to focus on who I am in him. I'm going to let his purity be my strength. And you turn to him.
You think on your identity. You remember you're holy in Christ. And as you abide, the temptation loses its power.
Not because you resisted harder, because you abided deeper, because Christ's life in you is stronger than the pull of sin. Or you wake up and don't feel like praying. From self-effort, you force yourself.
You discipline yourself to get on your knees, even though you don't want to. And the whole time you're praying, you're aware you're just going through motions. But from Christ dependence, you recognize, "I don't feel like praying, but Christ in me desires communion with the Father.
I'm going to abide in that desire. I'm going to let his desire become mine. " And you turn your focus to him.
And as you abide, as you stay connected, his desire for prayer awakens in you. Not forced, natural, because it's not your discipline producing prayer. It's his life in you expressing itself.
E. W. Kenyon explained it powerfully.
When you're trying to live the Christian life, you're working from your own resources, and your resources are limited, flawed, and insufficient. But when you abide in Christ, when you let his life flow through you, you're operating from his resources, his love, his power, his patience, his holiness, and his resources are unlimited, perfect, and always sufficient. When you're trying to live the Christian life, you're working from your own resources.
That's the problem. Your resources can't produce what God requires, but Christ's can. And when you abide in him, his resources become yours, not through trying, through connection.
Now, let's see this principle throughout scripture. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 records what Jesus told Paul. And he said unto me, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
" Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
When I am weak, then I am strong. How? Because Paul stopped trying in his own strength and started depending on Christ's strength.
His weakness became the place where Christ's power flowed. He wasn't trying to be strong. He was abiding in the one who is strong, and strength flowed through him.
Or, look at Philippians 4:13. Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. " Through Christ who strengthens me, not through my own effort, through Christ.
The source isn't Paul's discipline or willpower. The source is Christ's strength operating through him. Paul isn't trying to do all things.
Christ is doing all things through Paul, and that's what makes it possible. That's what makes it natural because it's not Paul's limited resources, it's Christ's unlimited resources flowing through Paul's yielded life. Here's where everything converges into one life-altering truth.
The reason the Christian life feels unnatural is because you're trying to live it instead of letting Christ live it through you. You're operating from self-effort instead of from Christ-dependence. You're working from your resources instead of abiding in his.
And as long as you're trying, as long as you're striving, as long as you're producing through effort, the Christian life will remain a burden. Heavy, hard, exhausting. But the moment you make the shift, the moment you move from self-effort to Christ-dependence, everything changes.
Not gradually, instantly. Because you're no longer trying to do what you can't do. You're letting Christ do what only he can do.
You're no longer producing through effort, you're bearing fruit through abiding. You're no longer working from your limited resources, you're receiving from his unlimited supply. And here's what happens.
Love stops being something you force yourself to produce and becomes something that naturally flows from Christ in you. Patience isn't something you're trying to develop. It's Christ's patience expressing through you.
Holiness isn't something you're striving to achieve. It's Christ's holiness living through your yielded life. Prayer isn't a discipline you force yourself to maintain.
It's communion with the Father that Christ in you desires. The Christian life stops being effort and becomes expression. Not your expression trying to be like Christ.
Christ's expression through you. Think about what this means practically. When you're living from self-effort, every command feels like a burden.
"Love your enemies. " That's hard. "Forgive 70 * 7.
" That's impossible. "Be holy as I am holy. " That's exhausting because you're trying to do it in your own strength.
But when you shift to Christ-dependence, those same commands become invitations to abide. "Love your enemies" becomes "Christ in me loves unconditionally. " I'm going to abide in his love and let it flow through me to my enemies.
"Forgive 70 * 7" becomes "Christ in me is forgiveness. " I'm going to abide in him and let his forgiveness flow through me. "Be holy" becomes "Christ in me is holiness.
" I'm going to abide in him and let his holiness express through my life. Do you see it? Same commands, different source.
One is you trying, the other is Christ living. One is burden, the other is invitation. One is impossible, the other is natural.
Because when Christ is living through you, what's impossible for you becomes natural through him. This is exactly what Colossians 1:27 reveals. It says, "Christ in you, the hope of glory.
" Christ in you, not Christ helping you, not Christ giving you strength to try harder. Christ in you, living through you, expressing himself through you. And that's the hope of glory.
That's the secret of the Christian life. It's not you trying to be glorious. It's Christ's glory manifesting through your surrendered life.
And here's what's beautiful. When you're abiding, when Christ is living through you, you're not even aware of the effort. You're not thinking, "I'm being so patient right now.
I'm loving so well. I'm being so holy. " You're just living.
And his life is flowing. His character is expressing. His nature is manifesting.
And it feels natural, easy, light, because it's not you trying to be like him. It's him being himself through you. This is what Paul meant in Philippians 2:13 when he wrote, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
" God works in you both to will and to do. The desire and the ability, the wanting and the performing. God produces both.
Not you trying to want what you don't want, not you trying to do what you can't do. God working in you, Christ living through you, his desires becoming yours, his ability flowing through your yielded life. And when you live from that reality, when you abide instead of trying, when you receive instead of producing, the Christian life becomes exactly what Jesus said it would be.
His yoke is easy. His burden is light. Not because the standards are lower, because the source is different.
You're not carrying the yoke through your own strength. Christ is carrying it through you. You're not bearing the burden with your own resources.
His grace is bearing it through your yielded life. And what's impossible for you becomes natural through him. Let's bring this to absolute clarity.
The one change that makes the Christian life natural is shifting from self-effort to Christ-dependence. From trying to live the Christian life through your own strength to abiding in Christ and letting his life flow through you. From producing fruit through discipline to bearing fruit through connection.
From working from your limited resources to receiving from his unlimited supply. And how do you make that shift? You start by recognizing the truth.
You can't live the Christian life. You were never meant to. It's beyond your ability, your resources, your strength.
But Christ in you can. His life, his love, his patience, his holiness, all of it is already in you because he's in you. And when you stop trying to produce what you don't have, and start abiding in the one who has everything, his life flows through you naturally, effortlessly, supernaturally.
The practical application is this. Every morning, before you face the day, recognize the truth. Christ is in me.
His life is my life. I'm not trying to be patient today. I'm abiding in him who is patient and his patience flows through me.
I'm not working to love. I'm letting his love express through my yielded life. I'm not forcing myself to be holy.
I'm resting in him who is holy and his holiness lives through me. And then you go through your day not from self-effort but from abiding. Not trying to produce but receiving.
Not working from your resources but drawing from his. And when you fail, when you sin, when you react in the flesh instead of responding in the spirit you don't go back to trying harder. You recognize what happened.
I stopped abiding. I started trying in my own strength. I shifted from Christ dependence to self-effort.
And you simply return to abiding. You turn your focus back to Christ. You reconnect to the vine and his life begins to flow again.
Not because you tried harder, because you abided deeper. Here's how this looks throughout your day. You're driving and someone cuts you off.
Your flesh wants to react in anger. From self-effort you try not to get angry. You force yourself to calm down.
You work to respond kindly and it's effort. But from Christ dependence you recognize in that moment Christ in me is patient. I'm going to abide in his patience.
And you turn your focus to him and his patience flows. Not forced, natural. You're at home and your spouse says something irritating.
From self-effort you try to be loving. You force a kind response. You work to not be defensive and it feels fake.
But from Christ dependence Christ in me loves unconditionally. I'm going to abide in his love, and his love flows through you, not because you manufactured it, because you abided in it. You're at work, and you're tempted to compromise your integrity.
From self-effort, you try to do the right thing. You discipline yourself to be honest, and it's a struggle. But from Christ-dependence, Christ in me is righteous.
I'm going to abide in his righteousness, and doing right becomes natural, not because you forced it, because his nature expressed through you. That's what it means to make the shift from self-effort to Christ-dependence, from trying to abiding, from working to receiving. And when you make that shift, when you start living from Christ's life instead of trying to produce Christian behavior, everything changes.
The burden lifts. The yoke becomes easy. And you discover what Jesus meant when he promised that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
E. W. Kenyon's final word: The Christian life is the most natural thing in the world when you're living it from the right source, and the most unnatural when you're living it from the wrong source.
Stop trying to be like Christ. Start abiding in Christ. Stop working to produce.
Start receiving from him. Stop striving through your own effort. Start resting in his grace, and the Christian life will become what it was always meant to be: Christ living his life through you.
Natural, joyful, effortless, easy, and light. The Christian life is the most natural thing in the world when you're living it from the right source. That's the revelation.
That's the shift. That's the one change that makes everything natural. Stop trying.
Start abiding. Stop working. Start receiving.
Stop self-effort. Start Christ dependence and watch what happens. Not gradually, instantly.
The burden lifts, the yoke becomes easy, and the Christian life becomes what Jesus promised, easy and light. Not because you tried harder, because you finally stopped trying and started abiding in the one who lives his life through you. If this teaching has revealed that the Christian life is not you trying to live like Christ, but Christ living through you, and if you're ready to shift from self-effort to Christ dependence, I want you to declare it.
In the comment section below, type these words, "Christ lives in me. I abide in him. His life flows through me naturally.
" Don't type it as something you're trying to achieve. Type it as the settled truth of Galatians 2:20. You're not trying to live the Christian life.
Christ is living it through you. This is you making the shift from effort to abiding, from trying to receiving. Do it now.
Type, "Christ lives in me. I abide in him. His life flows through me naturally.
" Now, understanding that the Christian life is Christ living through you changes everything. But there's one result of that truth that most believers never discover. When you truly abide in Christ, when his life is flowing through you, obedience stops being effort and becomes automatic.
Not forced, not disciplined, automatic. There's a secret to effortless obedience that Jesus demonstrated, that the first believers walked in, and that religion has buried under layers of trying and striving. And when you discover that secret, when you understand why obedience becomes natural when you're abiding, you'll never struggle with trying to obey again.
