Even Though You Feel Powerless, You Aren’t

Even Though You Feel Powerless, You Aren't
God's sovereignty doesn't cancel your agency—it awakens it.
She sat across from me, eyes low, voice quiet.
"I don't even know why I did it," she said. "I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to fall back into that pattern, but it just sort of happened. I guess I'm just broken."
I've heard some version of that story more times than I can count.
Sometimes it comes with guilt.
Sometimes with shame.
Sometimes with a strange kind of resignation—as if being human means being hopeless.
There's a familiar lie that gets into our bones:
"I can't help it."
We say it when we're overwhelmed by temptation.
We say it when trauma feels louder than truth.
We say it when it seems like the choices of others—or the circumstances around us—have stripped us of our own.
And sometimes we even dress it up in church clothes:
"God's in control."
"This must be His will."
"Maybe I'm just supposed to suffer through this."
But here's what I want to say to you gently, as a pastor and a fellow struggler:
Even though you feel powerless, you aren't.
You may feel stuck.
You may feel like your story is already written.
You may feel like your will is too weak or your wounds too deep.
But you still have a soul.
You still have a say.
You still bear the image of God.
And the image of God in you is not passive. It's not helpless. It's not programmed or predetermined.
It's creative. Responsive. Capable of love and change and choice.
That's what agency is.
It's not about control. It's not about fixing everything.
It's about choosing to respond to God—even when life feels out of control.
Jesus showed us this.
In John 10:18, He says:
"No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."
Even in betrayal, even in pain, even at the cross—He chose.
And by choosing love, He changed everything.
That same Spirit lives in you.
Scripture is full of holy invitations:
• "Choose this day whom you will serve."
Joshua 24:15
• "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…"
Romans 12:2
• "Put off your old self… and put on the new self, created to be like God."
Ephesians 4:22–24
God's grace doesn't remove your agency. It restores it.
You may not be able to choose your circumstances.
But you can choose your response.
You can choose hope.
You can choose faithfulness.
You can choose again.
And when temptation feels overwhelming—when you're convinced there's no way forward except surrender—remember this promise:
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)
This isn't empty motivation. It's divine assurance that in every moment of weakness, God has already created an exit route. The way out might not be obvious. It might not be easy. But it's there—waiting for you to choose it.
God wouldn't promise a way out if you didn't have the ability to take it.
And even if it's hard—especially if it's hard—that choice is sacred.
 
 
 
Call to Action:
This week, resist the lie that you're stuck. Ask the Spirit: "What do I still have the power to choose today?" Then do it—with faith.
Journal Prompt:
Where in my life have I been living as if I have no choice? What would it look like to reclaim agency in that area—with God, not apart from Him?