Scripture
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.- Romans 7:15
Have you ever found yourself saying to yourself the same words that Paul spoke to the Romans? You're desperate to do right, but you still find yourself doing wrong? Still stuck in those bad habits? Still making damaging decisions? There's a desire to do what is right, yet like Paul, you do the things you hate. You also know that the desire to wrong does not come from your new creation in Jesus. I'm sure that we're all aware of the struggle. It is only when you've made up your mind to do right and align your life with God that it becomes even harder to break away from doing wrong, bad habits, and bad decisions. May I suggest that we might have been trying to obey God in our own strength?
Trying to be good by our own effort is futile. We'll only face defeat and become even more discouraged. Remember 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If any man be in Christ, He is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new." We must remember who we are. I remember saying to the Lord when I was grappling with doing right versus doing wrong, "God you've got to help me. I know it's not right, but I find myself still wanting to do it." It's not about the lack of knowledge because I knew right from wrong. I also had a desire to do what was right as well. Simply put, I still relied on my strength and my desire to do what's right. What I should have done was go to the scriptures pertaining to my struggles at the time, and yield the situation to God. Remember that His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 2:9)
Beloved, the first thing to do is own up to the sin or sins we've committed. We must also acknowledge that the impulse to do wrong and sin does not come from the new us. While we own up to our sin, we must denounce it and quickly repent . We must cast our cares to Him because He cares for us and we must rely on His strength to say no, close doors, delete phone numbers, and forgive. Whatever you're dealing with today, remember that it is not in your strength, but His.
Father, we repent of all sins of omission and commission. We thank you that we don't have to deal with our situations with our own strength, but we can rely on you to overcome them. In Jesus' name. Amen
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