By Cosette Snarr

I spent years trying to change a situation in my life that felt completely unacceptable. I had succeeded in other areas—when I worked hard, I saw results. So I threw everything I had at this one thing. But no matter how much effort I poured in, nothing budged. I was angry. Frustrated. Overwhelmed by how out of control I felt. And because of that, I was miserable most of the time.

I kept pleading with God to fix what felt so painfully wrong. After a while, it started to feel like He’d forgotten me. Then one day, I just got tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of the misery. I came to Him, completely humbled, and prayed, “I can’t keep going like this. I don’t want to be unhappy anymore, and obviously this situation isn’t going to change. Please help me handle my life with grace. Help me let go of this resistance.”

What amazed me was how quickly everything started to shift—not because the situation changed, but because I did. Almost without trying, I began to feel happy again. People even started commenting on how different I looked. But I knew it wasn’t anything external—it was because God had changed my heart. That’s when I discovered what I now call power versus force.

Spencer W. Kimball once said,

“When threatened, we become anti-enemy instead of pro-kingdom of God… We forget that if we are righteous, the Lord will either not suffer our enemies to come upon us… or He will fight our battle for us.”

That quote hit me hard. I realized I’d been so focused on fighting what was happening, I’d forgotten to be led. I wasn’t asking God for direction—I was trying to control the outcome. I wanted to be right more than I wanted to be at peace. I was operating in force, not power. And in doing so, I was blocking myself from receiving the strength God was offering to help me walk through the hard.

James Allen once wrote that we fight circumstances by

“continually revolting against an effect without, while all the time we are nourishing and preserving its cause in our heart.”

That stopped me in my tracks. That was me. I was resisting so hard on the outside, all while unknowingly feeding the very thing I hated inside. That’s what force does. And it doesn’t just wear you out—it keeps you stuck.

I’ve come to believe there are two ways we tap into true power, and they work together.
First, through our thoughts. Our thoughts hold power. When they align with what we truly desire, we naturally begin to attract the resources, insight, and clarity we need—whether that’s a physical solution or a change in perspective.
Second, and most important for me: we choose to go up instead of out. We turn to God first, instead of trying to bulldoze through everything ourselves. When something is truly right, God helps align our thoughts. That’s real power.

Now, anytime I feel myself pushing, striving, or forcing, I recognize it. That feeling is my cue to stop—and usually, when I look closer, pride is somewhere in the mix. That’s when I pause and turn it over. Because when I do, I’m stepping out of force and into power—allowing God to guide both my thoughts and actions.

Since making that shift, my life has taken a complete turn. And here’s the beautiful irony: the very situation I thought had to change… actually did. But by then, I understood something vital: it wasn’t the situation that made me miserable—it was how I was thinking about it. And God helped me see that.

Now, I filter everything through this lens:
Am I using force—or am I stepping into power?
And without fail, choosing power works every single time.

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