Why is it so easy to focus on the bad? Why do we allow ourselves to believe lies? Why do we get sucked into despair and believe that we are anything less than the craftsmanship of the Almighty Creator? I can't believe that anyone wants to feel that way so why does it happen?
So why...why....why?
Romans 7:17-25 (MSG) says it like this.
"But I need something more! For if I know the law but still 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.
It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different."
Last night God lead us through an exercise based on Philippians 4:8. I asked Tyrone to make a list of 10 things that are good in his life. He did. We talked about each thing on the list - what was good about each one of them. We read Philippians 4:8. "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
The Bible does a great job of showing us the difficulty Jesus went through leading up to his arrest. He asked God to take away the burden of the cross, but surrendered to God's will and not his own. He was perfect after all - He is God! He prayed for himself, for him disciples, for all believers that will ever live. What an incredible example of how to handle our challenging times. After all, the power of the living God lives in each of us once we accept Jesus as our Savior.
I am not only thinking of our situation as I write this. I am thinking of Amy and Jeff who have 2 mortgages. I am thinking of Kristen who just lost a baby. I am thinking of Andrew who stays committed to a wife who battles extreme depression. I am thinking of Rebecca who went through a divorce. I am thinking of Jessica who is recovering from a childhood of abuse. I am thinking of countless others who are in the midst of a battle- some big some small, but all significant to the people walking through it.
So we have a choice. A choice to focus on the good, the blessing, the cross. A choice to focus on our sin, our dispair, the lies satan wants to convince us are true.
Well not in our house! I claim the power of the name of Jesus Chirst and what he accomplished on the cross. He defeated death so we can LIVE FOREVER with him. He has the power, and therefore we do too, to defeat the darkness and step into HIS LIGHT.
"Make the Most of Me" by Marie Miller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6amferhwFJ0&feature=related
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