Good OP and Jesus changes us from the inside out with the new heart, desires,mind,will, motives etc.......
Its the opposite of legalism/fear as we are motivated by His Love and a desire to please Him.
Not only are we motivated, but we are Willed by God to be a certain way, just as was Abraham when he was told . . .
Genesis 17:1 CSB - "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him, saying, "I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless."
That wasn't God asking, but God was determining His Holy Mind-Control over those He chooses.
Romans 8:9 CSB - "You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him."
Most "Christians" ignore Romans 8:9 because if they didn't, they would realize that their consistent disobedience means that they still possess the Sinful Nature, the Mind of the Devil. I would know . . . as I have lived this life of disobedience for the first 48=+ years of my life, and now feel the difference, having been Transformed out of my own plan and power. God is controlling me . . . and if you knew what has been happening to me, it is clear to see that I cannot choose my own ways, no more than the Apostle Paul could have controlled the events on the Damascus Road. When Christ Chose Paul, his path had been determined for him. And thank God for that! And so am I grateful to be under the Holy Mind-Control of our Powerful God!! If God did not Control me, I would still be dead in my sins.
Colossians 2:13 NLT - "You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins."
What happened to me is EXACTLY what I read about throughout the entire Bible. The Bible tells the story of my life . . . what happens to the Lord's Children.