Why is it that I struggle everyday to overcome weaknesses, to stop habits that aren't sinful on their own but become sinful when they distract me from God? Why is it important that these things are removed from my life? If I am seeking to be intimate with God, ANYTHING that gets in the way and separate me from His fellowship and blessing. How thankful am I that God's love is never removed from me and is unconditional.
But how do I overcome these habits? "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." Guess where that is from...Zechariah 4:6. Yep, the OLD TESTAMENT. At this point, God's spirit had not been sent to inhabit His people yet; but that was the mode of strenght, etc.
Romans 6:19 says "...just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slave of righteousness for holiness." We must give up our struggles (I think daily) to God and depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us away from our old habits.
Jerry Bridges, in The Pursuit of Holiness says:
"Though we are to deal with these habits of unholiness, we must not try to do it on our own strength. Breaking sinful habits must be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and in dependence upon Him...Therefore, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, we must systematically work at acquireing the habit of saying no to the sins that so easily entangle us."
Through dependence on the Holy Spirit and victory over our sins, we come closer to intimacy with our God!
1 comment:
Well, we clearly can't do it alone. I think this is part of where I've come to value having my quiet time in the morning. Part of my time is spent asking for strength to avoid those temptations... I'm certainly not successful most days, but I start the day on the right note.
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