Anchored

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

Whenever I set myself to fully surrender and seek the Lord, the opportunity to sin rears its ugly head. I want to do what is right, what is good, and what is praiseworthy. Yet I sometimes do what is wrong, hurtful, and sinful. I do wrong things and say wrong things. I want to resist the flesh, yet I drift toward these carnal inclinations. Those moments, however brief, rule over my screaming spirit, which tells me "No, no, no, don't do it, you'll regret it." But I want to, I need to, and I must do it, whatever "it" is. I may explode or implode if I don't! Again, my spirit chimes in. 'As soon as it's done or said, you will wish you hadn't done it or said it. Yet, sometimes, if not always, I do it anyway. Then I suffer the consequences. On the heels of my "it" comes the regret. The heartache. The why's. The if only (s). The guilt. The shame. Why won’t I listen to my helper, comforter, and friend? Jesus left us all with the Holy Spirit for exactly these moments.

I take heart in what Paul said about this in Romans seven. The law is good to show us that we are powerless without the Holy Spirit. The law exposes sin for what it is. We are prisoners, slaves to the law of sin at work within us. However, if we can remain anchored in God, he will help us through any storm or bad attitude.

"Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Christ our Lord! "So then, I myself, in my mind, am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin." Romans 7:25

I recognize I am a sinner and will do sinful things, even though I don't want to and strive not to. When I do mess up, I have learned to quickly be contrite and ask for forgiveness. Because I know God doesn’t shame me for my guilt, I refuse to stay in that moment of my mistake and choose to move forward by asking for forgiveness, learning from my mistake, and trying not to repeat it. I will anchor myself in Jesus, he is my firm foundation and I know he will use my mess (up’s) for good.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

When sin rears its ugly head next time. I’ll be better prepared if I throw some of the ‘it is written’ scriptures at it. I will sink to my knees in prayer, asking for help and strength to do what is right.

I am learning to walk away from potentially explosive conversations where I will possibly say something I’ll regret. I know I have the tools to overcome; I just need to use them! Sometimes it’s the devil I need to yell at, but most times it’s all me. The Holy Spirit is the one who keeps me steadfast and immoveable in spite of what I want to say and do. I need to learn to lean into him more to listen to his whispers and to be obedient to his promptings.

Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." Matthew 4:10 (ESV)

since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16

***As a side note, I’d like to say, "We have to stop giving the devil so much credit for our bad decision-making. In all reality, he’s sitting around eating bonbons and watching game shows because we are doing his job for him!

I must remind myself: I'm a slave to God, not to sin. I am set free and righteous because of the one who died for me and rose from the dead! My service is to God. He is the one I choose to bear fruit for. I have been delivered from the bondage of sin! It is my desire to sin no more. But instead, I choose to pursue Jesus.

I am passionately pursuing Christ with determination and zeal. No matter what may try to halt my progress or barriers that stand in my way, I shall persevere, keeping my eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and the goal of spending eternity with my Jesus. No anger, bad attitude, or toxic thoughts will keep me from this.

Never put the pursuit of Christ on cruise control; it may result in a devastating crash.

I’m ever so grateful not to be alone in my fight to do what is right and thank God neither are you!

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1

"My grace is all you need." "My power works best in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Jesus, thank you for forgiving my sins and for being my refuge in times of trouble. Thank you for your mercy and grace, for being my anchor and firm foundation and thank you for your power that works best in my weakness. I surrender all I am and all I have to you. Lord, I want to become more and more like Jesus every day. Amen.