Failures can be so discouraging. Sometimes I feel like I fail at the same things over and over again and—I wonder how God can stand it. How can He be so patient? How can He be so perpetually forgiving? But—those thoughts of doubt are my enemy talking to me—not my Savior! I must remember…
…my struggle with failure does NOT diminish God’s love for me because He loves me based upon Who HE IS, not based upon WHAT I DO.
God is love—REAL love. It’s not the counterfeit, fickle kind. After we’re born again our soul and spirit are covered by the righteousness of Christ. Yet, our flesh is still in constant combat with our born-again spirit. We have years of unhealthy emotional baggage and bad habits. Our flesh wants to live in sin, and our regenerated spirit wants to do what’s right according to God’s Word. Paul described this perpetual struggle between our inner man and our outer man:
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do NOT: but the evil which I would not, that I DO. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man…”
Romans 7:18-22 KJV
The struggle with sin is REAL between—our inner man and outer man. We must remember how God designed us and which part of us is most important! God’s Word enlightens us to this truth:
“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do NOT do the things that you WISH.”
Galatians 5:16-17 NKJV
God is aware of our struggle with sin and knows our need for help—do WE understand just how desperately we need HIM to help us?
We don’t expect our children to one day become healthy, productive adults without—our constant guidance, nurture, instruction, and discipline. In the same way, our Father does not expect us to overcome our flesh alone. Just as we strongly desire for our children to succeed, God gives us HIS tools to overcome. He indwells us with His Spirit. He gives us a full suit of armor to put on every day!
When we’re struggling with repeated failure or persistent sin, do we immediately return to God and the wisdom of His Word?
Or, do we spiral deeper in shame, or cower in fear? Maybe, we are so discouraged over our repeated failure, that we question whether our repentance is genuine. Or, maybe we don’t want to give up our own way because we are afraid that God’s way is not as good. It’s then we need to understand God’s goodness. We need to train our mind in just how much goodness God has given us and how much sin hurts us. When we are born again we become part of HIS family. His love is a million times better than any love we have ever known. In fact, God loved us before we knew or even understood love!
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We love him, because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:10, 19 KJV
When we begin to comprehend the goodness of God’s love, He becomes our passion. He becomes the one part of life that we don’t want to live without. The experience of God’s love helps us understand that we are fully accepted by Him. Our life is transformed by confidence and love, not hung up with guilt and shame. Sure we struggle. We really do! But God understands our battle with sin. He wants to fight it with us—not fight against us. When we humble our heart, daily repent, and turn from our trespasses against His love, we are drawn into His glorious presence which is FAR more satisfying than sin!
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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One Response
We must walk the narrow road of righteousness not the broad road of sin.