A New Year and an Old Struggle: Finding Freedom Through Honesty
- Dr. Matt Hook
- Jan 7
- 4 min read
As we step into a new year, many of us carry the same familiar weight - the gap between who we want to be and who we actually are. We make resolutions, set goals, and promise ourselves this will be the year we finally get it together. But what if the answer isn't another system to manage our lives better? What if what we really need is freedom?
The Universal Human Struggle
The Apostle Paul captured this tension perfectly in Romans 7: "I don't understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out."
This isn't confusion - it's honesty. Paul names the reality that every one of us lives with: the struggle between our intentions and our actions. Whether it's our temper, our habits, our relationships, or our inner thoughts, we all have areas where our best efforts simply haven't worked.
What Does Powerlessness Really Look Like?
We live with what could be called "the great I can't list":
I can't fix my family
I can't stop worrying
I can't manage my temper
I can't find peace
I can't stop reaching for things that don't satisfy
This isn't about labeling people or focusing only on addiction. This is about telling the truth about the human condition. All of us have areas where we feel stuck, where willpower alone isn't enough.
Why Being Right Isn't Enough
Here's an uncomfortable truth: being right about our problem doesn't fix it. Even demons believe in God and shudder, according to James 2:19. Belief alone isn't breakthrough. Jesus illustrated this in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee prayed, "God, thank you that I'm not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get." The tax collector simply beat his chest and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Jesus shocked everyone by saying the tax collector went home justified before God. God doesn't applaud polished prayers or perfect performance. God moves toward the broken and honest.
Where Do You Turn When Life Gets Hard?
Here's a revealing question: Where do your anxious thoughts go? And when those thoughts are swirling - when you're tired, lonely, bored, afraid, or ashamed - what do you reach for?
The first step isn't to fix it, manage it, or spiritualize it. It's simply to name it. You can't be healed from what you won't name.
The Starting Line, Not the Finish Line
Admitting powerlessness isn't weakness - it's the starting line. It's step zero in a journey toward freedom. This is where honesty begins, and honesty is where freedom begins. The famous Serenity Prayer captures this beautifully: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
But there's more to this prayer that's often forgotten: "Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardships as the pathway to peace, taking the sinful world as it is, not as I would have it."
God Is Never Shocked by Your Struggle
Here's the good news: Gos is never surprised by your struggle. What grieves God most is when people who are thirsty don't go for water, when people who are starving don't seek nourishment. God is most grieved when needy people pretend they don't need mercy. Self-righteousness may be the only sin that denies it even exists. But our faith is built on love and mercy, not on having it all together.
The Path Forward
This isn't about completing a program - it's about walking a path. A path that involves:
Admitting where your best efforts haven't worked
Finding others to walk alongside you
Taking it one step at a time
Being honest instead of impressive
The 12 steps aren't just for people with addictions. They're a framework for anyone who has discovered that willpower alone isn't working. They're for humans who are ready to stop pretending and start healing.
Life Application
This week, your challenge is to practice radical honesty. Instead of trying to fix everything or make grand resolutions, simply name one area where your best efforts haven't worked.
Ask yourself these questions:
Where do my anxious thoughts go most often?
What do I reach for when I'm stressed, lonely, or afraid?
What area of my life am I tired of pretending is fine when it's not?
Am I willing to stop going it alone and find others to walk this journey with me?
Remember, you don't have to fix your life today. You just have to stop denying where you need grace. That discomfort you might feel? It could be hope knocking at your door. The starting line isn't about being strong - it's about admitting you need strength that comes from beyond yourself.