Owning Up

Day 25

“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”

– Romans 7:22-24

This verse outlines fairly clearly that we are all inclined to do sinful things. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  But what is interesting here is that Paul is showing us in this verse that there is a conflict between the part of us that wants to serve God wholeheartedly and the sinful nature within all of us. This is a conflict that every Christian encounters in their walk with God. You are not the only one.

Jamie spoke at the 2019 Advance about how David admitted he had done wrong and owned up to his mistake in order to save his life and his family. This is an important piece of the story to grab hold of. I was reading something that Bishop T.D. Jakes wrote about David compared to Saul. He was saying that even though both of them made mistakes, there was one key factor that separated them: a heart of repentance. David willingly admitted he was wrong, repented, and turned his life around while Saul lied to the prophet Samuel and refused to own up to his errors (1 Samuel 15:15-24).

…there was one key factor that separated them: a heart of repentance.

As you grow in the Lord, it is important to repent for those things that trip us up at times. That does not mean we should keep making the same mistakes. Instead, we should make every effort to turn the situation around so we can be blessed as David was.

Just like anything else, once you begin the process of owning up to your faults and asking for forgiveness, it gets easier and easier to do. As you keep growing, you will see that the things that used to trouble you have stopped troubling you and you are able to focus more on your growth.

T.D. Jakes put it beautifully: “…there is a gradual and perpetual transference of authority as we walk with God.”  It’s like a cycle. As we recognize and admit our faults, we ask God for forgiveness. As we do that, we get further and further from the weaknesses we once had. As we get further away from those weaknesses, we gain more and more of God’s power and authority in our lives. As we gain more and more authority, it becomes much easier to say “no” to the enemy when he tries to snag us with those old habits.

…it gets easier and easier to do.

1. Own up to your faults.

2. Ask for forgiveness (and mean it).

3. Put aside those old habits.

4. Continue to grow more and more in authority and power.

Believing with you,

Yvonne

Harvest Church