Our human nature can be really annoying, can’t it? One minute we are thinking about spiritual things and living our lives in a Christ-like manner, and the next we forget it all and move into a state of annoyance or anger. Or what about those days where we just don’t feel like being kind, loving, or happy. Or perhaps the days we feel so beaten down and broken we don’t even want to open our Bibles. We don’t even know how to pray. I confess, I have days I don’t even want to be a “good person” I just want to stay in my pit of angry feelings.
The truth is we are dancing an awkward dance. At our core we are Spirits meant for heaven, but we are trapped in a sin-natured body. In Romans 7 Paul talks about how he does what he doesn’t want to do and the frustration that comes with it. He says this:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:22-25
Paul is clearly saying, he knows what he should be doing, but sometimes he just doesn’t do it! None of us are exempt from the frustration that comes from wanting to do what is right but falling short of that desire. All of us have hurts, scars, trials, temptations, bad days, questions, and at times we are just plain confused. Take heart, we are in this together. Not one of us has it figured out or lives a perfect life.
While we will daily battle this war between our spiritual nature and our sin nature, we can rise above it. Life can beat us up, and we can mess up far more than we want to even admit. A current struggle of mine is being impatient and frustrated with my kids. After messing up far more than I care to admit, I can easily start believing I am a bad mom. The problem is, when we begin believing we are a bad mom, person, wife, co-worker, ____ we lay down in defeat.
God doesn’t want us to lay down in defeat. We have the power to live an overcoming life through Jesus Christ. Not a perfect life, an overcoming life. We can overcome our fleshly nature by relying on Jesus and Jesus alone. That is so much easier said than done though! I am daily learning what it means to rely on Jesus and Jesus alone. I can personally say, I went from a state where my depression and anxiety held me hostage to a place where I can rise above it. It is still there my friends, but I have learned to manage it.
Because I am so passionate about the pursuit of learning to rely on Jesus and Jesus alone, I am working on a book titled I Need Jesus. It is a book divided into three sections: Prayer, Meditation, and A guided Journal. I can’t wait to share more with you about this book, BUT until then I have put together a 4 day challenge. This challenge is to help us all break free from the lies satan drags us down with. Then we can all learn more and more each day how to rely completely on Jesus and Jesus alone. If you are subscribed to the Hello Jesus newsletter you received this today! If you are not on the mailing list, subscribe to get your free 4 Day Challenge for free!
This Four Day Challenge starts by identifying the root of our sin nature and why we so easily do the things we don’t want to do. Next it breaks down four elements of our human tendency that we are called to overcome. With each one there is a challenge to go along with it so we can rise above it and trust in Jesus instead!
