Give 'Me' A Break

^“But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.” Romans 7:17-20.

Have you ever had a day where you sat and thought to yourself, “What in the world is wrong with me?!” Out of frustration with our own repetitive madness we start to think, “Well, maybe I do need some help…” Paul hits the nail on the head when he describes how our sinful nature can frustrate our spiritual desires – things as simple as deciding to eat healthier and then finding yourself pigging out at Christmas parties or deciding to become financially disciplined then finding yourself “needing” the new Jordans. We are constantly bouncing between what our spirit needs and what our natural bodies cling to and it can feel like the system is set up for us to fail.

Self-discipline is a huge part of living a Christ-like life. Christ reminds us in Luke 9:23-24 that in order to be His follower we cant bring our selfish ways with us—trying to hang on to our old lives will only cause us to loose them.  Turning away from something you’re used to means a battle between what you want and what you know you need. Paul gets it. He wrote about the predictability of our “failures” and how helpless it can feel to try wholeheartedly and still mess up. It’s the one part of us we wish we could just lock away.

In all honesty there are parts of us that don’t find interest in pleasing God, parts that just want to satisfy themselves. That sinful nature can abruptly rear its ugly head in the least expected moments of our lives…and then it’s back to square one. Again.

As frustrating as that cycle can be, its important to remember that with all you’ve gone through and as far you think you have left to go in your walk with God, there are some who didn’t make it as far as you have. The spirit of frustration makes you beat up on yourself and criticize where you are in comparison to where we think we should be. It also clouds our view of how far we’ve come with God’s help. Paul’s letter goes on to explain how Christ set things up to help us when we want to serve God with all our hearts and minds, but get pulled by the influence of sin to do something completely different.

The exasperating and contradicting struggle of trying to control your sinful nature can even make you think being spiritual isn’t for you.  But leaning on God in weak moments and in situations we seemingly can’t handle allow Him to exercise His perfect strength in us. 

- Ayana