Lately I have been pondering God's ability to give all of us power to conquer sin in our lives. I watched Letters to God recently and one of the characters struggled with alcoholism. This song came on during the scene when the war was waging inside of this man. As I listened to the lyrics and watched him decide that the sin that had held him captive and ruined his life was no longer going to have a foothold in his life I began to cry.
There are things in my life that if I just allowed God to take me to the waters edge I could conquer. Addictions that trap my soul and eat away at the very joy and life that God's grace can bring seem to run rampant within me.
A lot of times I can have crap in my life that I know I should deal with but am so selfish and complacent in my sin that I do nothing about it. Why don't I fight my sin? Why don't I confront it head on with everything I have? Is it because I am trying to conquer sin in my own power rather than God's?
It has to start with God. I will never be successful at conquering these addictions in my life until I submit to the grace and power of the Holy Spirit in my life.
Did you know that the basic definition of the characteristic of God being gracious is; in spite of our many failings, He delights in us and gives us far more than we deserve. We see tons of scriptures that reveal this truth throughout the whole bible. Grace is not just a New Testament concept. These men of faith that Hebrews talks about from the Old Testament all found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:8)
"And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness..." (Exodus 34:6)
Both of these men had great faith and I strongly believe that it is because they first saw the grace of the LORD upon their lives. May we be like these men and pursue God's grace in our lives so we too can conquer sin and live a life of faith. May we face our sin head on with the power of the resurrected LORD because we first have found forgiveness and grace in His eyes.
Here are just a few verses that we can mediate on to remind ourselves of the truth of God's grace on our lives.
"For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield."(Psalm 5:12)"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us- yes, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:17)"The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy." (Psalm 145:8)"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you." (Isaiah 30:18-19)
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