Probably the single greatest realization that I’ve come to in my life is that I am POWERLESS. I am POWERLESS to control my tendency to do the wrong thing. I am POWERLESS to do the right thing. When you struggle with pride, this slaps you in the face.
What you need to understand is that you absolutely have the ability to make your own decisions. You have the ability to choose between what you perceive to be right and wrong, good and bad. What I had to realize is that my perception of right, what I deem to be good, does not necessarily line up with God’s views. There was always some ulterior motive, some selfish desire, some self-serving purpose behind each and every decision I made. I was willing to do the “right thing” so long as it was of benefit to me. That’s not doing the RIGHT thing, that’s doing MY thing.
I wasn’t trying to help someone; I was trying to help myself.
I wasn’t trying to give; I was trying to get.
There was nothing in me that wanted it to be any other way. Here’s what we ALL need to understand, it’s not that we DON’T want to do what is good, we CAN’T. We are selfish by nature. We are self-preserving by nature. We are sinners by nature.
How do we break free from this curse? Jesus.
The past few years, as I’ve been a part of the Celebrate Recovery program, I’ve seen people freed from their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. BUT, I’ve also seen people relapse, backslide, disappear, and even die. That SUCKS! It HURTS! I’ve shed tears of joy. I’ve shed tears of sadness. I’ve wept for my friends, with my friends…my family. I ask myself, “Why isn’t EVERYONE being freed? Why aren’t ALL these people enjoying newness of life? What’s keeping them from finding hope?”
That’s just it. That’s the answer. Jesus.
It wasn’t until I turned my life over, that I surrendered my past, my present, my future, my EVERYTHING to the Savior of the world, that I found FREEDOM…NEWNESS…HOPE. What I’ve come to realize is that so many people are NOT grabbing a hold of God’s promises. It seems nice and cozy on the surface, but come to find out it’s freakin’ HARD to live for Jesus! We say the right things. We look the right way. We carry the appearance that we want our lives to be different.
All the while we secretly give up hope. All the while we turn away from His truth. We shut the door and hide from the light. I wanted to do what was right, I wanted to do what was good, but I couldn’t because I didn’t BELIEVE in a God that would redeem me, restore me, rescue me.
If we’re going to see a difference, not only in OUR lives, but in the lives of OTHERS, we’ve gotta get the message out and be crystal clear: JESUS IS THE ANSWER! Until Jesus is your everything, you’ll be stuck with nothing.
On my own I was POWERLESS. It’s the power of Jesus that has shattered the chains that once held me in place. It’s the power of Jesus that has shined a beacon of hope in my life. It’s the power of Jesus that brought down the walls around my heart so I could experience joy.
Jesus will set you free.
Do you believe?
No comments:
Post a Comment