IMAGE & FREE WILLIMAGE & FREE WILL
Resilient Truths
Dr. Bell talks about representing God and exposes how "free will" can get get the best of a person. People do not exude much power when they are operating in their own strength. One must lean toward God's understanding more than their own in order to obta...
45:19•10 Jan 2024
Image, Ego and God’s Power: Dr Bell on Free Will and Real Change
Episode Overview
- Living in God’s power means reflecting God’s image, not personal ego or self‑promotion.
- Real change shows up in behaviour; claiming to be renewed without visible change is “mocking God.”
- Words shape experience, so speaking negatively about yourself or others can create chaos in life.
- Free will and self‑will often block blessings; checking choices against God’s will is essential.
- Learning to recognise and heed God’s voice can prevent avoidable harm and support long‑term change.
“Free will is what takes our power away because we're doing everything on our own understanding and not leaning on God's understanding.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This teaching from **Resilient Truths**, led by Dr Theresa M Bell, speaks directly to anyone wrestling with ego, self‑will and the pull back towards old habits. Dr Bell blends down‑to‑earth humour with straight Bible teaching, moving from the “image of God” to what she calls *dunamis free will* – that drive to do things in your own strength.
As she puts it, “Free will is what takes our power away because we're doing everything on our own understanding and not leaning on God's understanding.” For anyone in recovery, that sounds very similar to trying to run life on self‑will alone. Drawing on passages from Colossians, James, Genesis, Deuteronomy and the Gospels, she unpacks why behaviour has to change if someone truly wants to live as a “new man” or “new woman”.
As a behavioural analyst, she explains that she watches what people do more than what they say, and that “you can tell a lot about someone in their silence, just how they move, how they walk.” The episode also tackles the power of the tongue – speaking chaos into your own life, gossip, and the damage caused by so‑called “tough love” that’s actually abuse.
Dr Bell connects these themes back to choice: people can walk in the Spirit or in the flesh, in God’s will or their own, but they can’t have God’s power while insisting on being in charge. Her own near‑fatal car accident and long recovery are shared with raw honesty, as she talks about learning to recognise God’s voice and the consequences of ignoring it.
For anyone in addiction recovery, her message is simple but challenging: check whose image you’re reflecting, whose voice you’re following, and who’s really running the show – your ego or God? If free will keeps pulling you off track, could this be the kind of straight‑talking faith perspective you’ve been needing?
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