It's Not Easy but It Can Be Done

Yesterday was a mixture of tough moments and redeeming moments. As I put the girls to bed I kept thinking of how so very easy it is to do wrong and how difficult it is to be good. Even in my thoughts I've failed.

How does one control one's thoughts? How do we stop from sinning if it is in our very nature to sin?

Yet, my heart is in the hands of He who forgives it all. It sounds so easy, but truly, when you love someone, just the mere thought of offending them makes you feel guilty.

It is in this guilt where I can be saved. This guilt will haunt me, stress me until I confess, head hung low, ashamed for hammering yet another nail in. It weighs a ton and only gets heavier by the day.

Paul told the Ephesians not to get drunk on wine because it will ruin you.

And yet we are attracted to the sweetness, the smell, we dive into the feeling until it's too late. Some will say they can control their liquor, they know when to stop, but how does one know unless you've past that limit before? How can you gauge unless you experience the ruin?

Sin runs rampant. It is in the temptation, it's in the "what if" thoughts, in the plotting and planning, crouching at your door like it did for Cain. Just the mind game alone that the devil plays is difficult to beat. On a sober day we say that we will never do that; we will never think that, say that and yet, when in darkness and opportunity comes knocking, we do it. Our never is null and void.

So how do we overcome this deadly beast?

Immerse yourself in all that is God. Live as if He is your shadow. Read scripture for inspiration, for the glory that is He. Sing songs of praise. Talk to Him, tell Him that you're about to give in and beg, plead for help. Listen, see, focus on what He wants you to know, what He wants you to do. Jesus has all the answers because He humbled Himself to be human. He can gauge, He knows our limits and He was able to defeat sin for us all.

It's very easy to fall into sin, almost too easy with only ruin, guilt, sorrow, even death as the outcome. But to overcome sin, to beat the temptation, to win is rewarding and holy. We've been created in His image, in His likeness, so we too can be chaste and sinless. We too can yell at the devil and praise God. We too can quote scripture and pray for salvation. He has given us these tools so that we can fight the good fight.

And best of all, He forgives everything! He loves you more than the lies you've told yourself, the lies the devil has convinced you into believing. Jesus is bigger than those lies, and His love is open wide, like His arms on that cross.

God bless!