When we initially
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, some fleshly patterns of thought, attitude, word
and emotion may quickly pass away from our practice. Others, however, may remain a temptation
to us, some for a long time.
We rejoice in the
carnalities quickly eliminated. The
challenges that linger, however, confront us in two ways. First, we must seek to overcome our
particular temptations through the leading and power of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of how long we have been
dealing with the issue (or how many times we may have failed), we continue to
seek God’s grace to “through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body” (Romans
8:13). We cannot change the
past. We can trust the Lord for His promised
forgiveness and cleansing, and we can live this day in expectation of His
enabling. As David declared, “My
expectation is from Him,” meaning that we anticipate today’s experience based
not on yesterday’s failure, but on God’s presence in the present (Psalm
62:5).
The second front of
challenge regarding lingering temptations involves the possibility of
discouragement. While God is never
responsible for our sins, the devil nevertheless tempts us to waver from trust
in the Lord Jesus. We may feel we
have trusted God, prayed and submitted to Him as best we can. Temptation and failures nevertheless
continue, and our spiritual enemies whisper or scream that God has let us
down. We may know and even affirm
that this is not true. Still, the
notion may remain in the back of our minds. If allowed to do so, we can be sure that
it will work its way to the forefront of our thoughts and attitudes, leading to
the discouragement that leads to flight from the field of battle. More importantly, we find ourselves
discouraged from knowing our perfectly faithful God as He is, and from trusting
Him without reserve.
Our Heavenly Father Himself
left us with our flesh and its proclivities when we believed. Never is there an excuse or condoning of
our sins, but there is understanding in God’s mind regarding the challenges we
face. Most of all, there is mercy
in His heart, and the patience that enables us to also endure as we remember
that “the Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and
transgression” (Number 14:28). Thus, we do not give up because He does not
give up. If we have failed 500
times regarding a particular fleshly matter, we still look at the possibility of
the 501st challenge with expectation of God’s grace and
enabling. We continue to trust Him,
recognizing that this is the primary challenge that must be overcome if all
others are to be faced in the attitude of heart that ultimately leads to
triumph.
“He which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ.”
(Philippians
1:6)
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