But I need something more! For I know the law but still I 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 (MSG)]
We all know the speed limit, but most of us break it. Obviously knowing a law is not enough to make us obey it. We know the guidelines for a healthy lifestyle, but most of us still eat and drink more than we should and exercise far less than recommended. Evidently, self-determination is not enough to make us behave as we should. We may believe in Jesus, but we still succumb to sin. Clearly, calling oneself a Christian doesn’t create an invisible shield against temptation and bad behavior.
If someone as devout as the Apostle Paul struggled with sin and couldn’t overcome it on his own, we are in good company. As Paul found, knowing God’s law is not sufficient and struggling to obey it on our own is unsuccessful. Like Paul, we will continually struggle with the attraction of sin. It’s not easy to repent and tougher to forgive. It’s challenging to love our neighbors and even harder to love our enemies. Having faith is only easy when we already know the results. Try as hard as we can, honesty, humility, and obedience seem to escape us while pride, anger and deceit rush in to take their place. Being God’s child is a life-long process. We will continue to be a work in progress for the rest of our lives. Willpower is not enough; we cannot do it on our own.
We must follow Paul’s example and call on the Holy Spirit to give us the power we need to change. God promises he will be there! Every time we fall (and, like Paul, we will fall many times), God will be there to pick us up.
“I told myself not to do it, but I didn’t listen!” [Neighbor girl’s excuse to her grandmother]
I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be – I can truly say that I am not what I once was – a slave to sin and Satan. And I can heartily join with the apostle and say that “by the grace of God I am what I am! [John Newton]
I have a friend who describes herself as being a “Birth and Resurrectionist.” Her idea of Christianity simply consists of church attendance on Christmas and Easter (maybe), with an occasional funeral or wedding thrown in.
Immediately after finishing yesterday’s devotion about conflict and prayer, I received a call from a friend whose 11-year old granddaughter, Anna, has osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Having undergone chemotherapy for the past two months, she is scheduled for surgery this week. In the best case scenario, her knee and part of her femur will be removed and replaced by a metal prostheses; the worst case scenario involves complete amputation of the leg. In either case, more chemo and at least six to twelve months of physical therapy will follow.
In speaking about prayer recently, our pastor referred to the 2009 church-wide assembly of our denomination. Knowing that the agenda included some divisive topics, the Presiding Bishop asked the delegates to spend the 50 days leading up to the convention devoted to both prayer and the study of Scripture. Once the Assembly convened, there was heated discussion among the delegates about the writing of a statement on human sexuality. The debate about this controversial subject was unique because the Presiding Bishop, Mark Hanson, halted the proceedings every twenty minutes to lead the assembly in prayer. Delegates on opposing sides, who had been vehemently arguing minutes earlier, often would lay hands on one another and pray for each other during these breaks. Praying for unity in spite of their disagreements, the delegates showed respect and love for one another. Although the final statement passed by only one vote and there is still disagreement within the church about it, without those pauses for prayer, that debate could have caused far more damage to the church than did the tornado that accompanied the assembly.
While reading C.S. Lewis’ The Horse and His Boy, I couldn’t help but think of the proud Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. He was so full of himself that he erected a 90-foot golden statue and then demanded that people fall down and worship it as a sign of loyalty to him. When interpreting one of the king’s dreams, Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he would be driven from human society and only regain his kingdom when the king learned that heaven, not man, rules. The king was warned to change his evil behavior. In spite of the caution and even though he’d seen the power of the Israelites’ one true God when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego survived the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar didn’t change his ways. While looking down from his rooftop and surveying the wonders of Babylon, he expressed pride in his accomplishments and congratulated himself on his mighty power. Before the words were even out of his mouth, a voice from heaven pronounced judgment upon him. The king developed what is known as boanthropy, a psychological disorder in which one becomes delusional and thinks he or she is a cow. The high and mighty king was driven from society and lived and ate like an animal for the next seven years.
Devotions of the Heart 