A common byproduct of redemption is the supernatural healing of oppression or addiction. In one form or another, many of us have experienced such deliverance (as we often call it) from the ways of our old life. And deliverance is not limited to our new-birth experience alone; it can happen even long after we’re saved. So we shouldn’t ever stop seeking such miraculous intervention by God.

But what’s frustrating is the fact that we can’t pick and choose which of our weaknesses will be healed in this manner. That’s because God has a plan—a plan revolving around His purpose for us. It’s a plan that is not only a whole lot different but also far less comfortable than what we might choose if we had the chance.

What I’m referring to here is actually an entirely different kind of change in us; it’s what Paul is referring to when he says, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”(Romans 12:2) To better understand what he means by this, we need to remember that the mind (and thus the renewal of our mind) doesn’t merely mean the physical mind, but rather the inner man—the immaterial part of our nature as it interacts with the physical mind.

What he’s describing here is a type of change that God employs far more commonly than the instantaneous kind. It’s a transformational change in our character, change which invariably is a more prolonged, arduous and painful solution to the problem of our weaknesses. Yet as annoying as this approach might seem, it is ultimately far more productive when the entire scope of God’s purpose is taken into account.