My Sinful Flesh

Based on Romans 7:14-25

Ever decide that you need to make a change? Like maybe lose a few pounds?

So you might start by cutting out a soda a day, or pushing away from the table when you’re full. For a while, you do so good. You see some progress when you hop on the scale, so you keep going.

Now you are making a choice to stick with it. You even decide to cut out all sugar and replace it with natural sweeteners. In a week or two, your clothes hiding in a bag in your closet fit again! Aren’t you glad you saved them!

So now, being so confident in your ability to stick with it, you go out to eat and what started out as a good idea; you order salad for example, becomes, well-those croutons won’t hurt anything. I’m eating salad after all. And then instead of oil and water, you decide ranch dressing is a good idea.

The next day, you step on the scale and what the heck? You gained a pound!

its the same thing with God. The will is there but the flesh is weak.

Some months you go to church every Sunday, prayer group every Wednesday and home group twice a month. Then, company comes and you skip church that week. You don’t feel exactly energetic, so you say, “Other people are going to prayer group, they won’t miss me.” The next thing you know, you’ve missed three months of going to church and you wonder ‘How did that even happen?’

Fighting the sins of the flesh, even with the best of intentions, is a constant daily battle. I have those thoughts sometimes about other people carrying the load, I don’t have to do that this week. Yet I fight that feeling and I do the right thing and go. Not because it’s easy.

No, some days it’s hard. I talk to myself all morning about excuses why I’m not needed at prayer group that day, yet in the end, God’s pull to do the right thing is stronger. I do go and I feel so much better for it!

But, just like trying to stay on a diet, there might come that day when I want to do what I want to do, not what God wants me to do. Will I cave in to my sinful flesh? Well, I hope not. Let me just say, it’s a struggle some days.

It’s raining. It’s freezing (and y’all know how much I hate the cold).

We have to ignore that little voice in our heads that says, “Just this once, it’ll be ok.”

It won’t be ok. The next thing you know, you’ll have to start all over again. Can God forgive you? Yes, He can. Does that mean it’s ok to give in because you know you’re forgiven? No, of course not.

It just takes effort. It takes willpower, just like diets.

You can do it though! I have all the faith in you!

Why should you? Because everything is better when God is with you. Plus, your heavenly reward will be so much greater if you just stick with it! Do the Bible readings, do the study plans, go to church on Sundays, visit that sick member in the hospital. You know the things. Do them all as much as you can.

Thanks be to God for His grace!

If you slip once or twice, all is not lost if you get right back on the horse-so to speak.

Eat that cookie…just don’t eat the whole bag! 😉🙏