He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 28:6
When I first came to know the Lord, I was a mess! I had been a cursing, drinking, angry woman who struggled to keep things together and was the most negative person I’ve ever known. Once I came to know Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, things began to change. There was no magic wand, it was a change that took time. As God revealed sin in my life I prayed and relinquished control to Him and HE began to take control of each of those areas of my life.
But as time went on, I began to take for granted that it was God who was the one keeping those areas of my life under control. I began to trust and rely on my own strength.
God taught me a lesson, quickly, and I am grateful that He did.
While discussing our walks with the Lord, with another follower of Christ, they confessed that although they had known the Lord for quite some time they still struggled with cursing (“Let no corrupt word come from your mouth”. Ephesians 4:29) . After having gone several years without cursing, I replied, “Oh, I don’t struggle with that any longer. I have really good control of my mouth. I even have control of my temper and I thought that would never happen” Silly me. lol
Within days (less than a week), I found my self in such an angry state that I rode around in my car, for hours, cursing like a mad man. There I was, riding around in my car, allowing the enemy to ride along with me, furiously cursing. Toward the end of my travails, I began talking to the Lord, explaining why I was so angry and that I had been fearful for the well being of someone only to find that they were careless, rude and disrespectful. God convicted me, severely and swiftly. He reminded me that if this were true, instead of riding around with the enemy sinning left and right, I would have been on my knees in prayer for this other individual. Then came the real conviction….suddenly I heard the conversation that I had previously had with my brother in Christ, about who had control of the anger and cursing in my life…I indicated that “I” was the one who was controlling those things. Then I heard, “who had control”?
I never had control of those areas of my life. I had relinquished control to God and He, through the Holy Spirit, was controlling them in my life and the moment I began to boast in my own strength He took His hands off those areas and I went right back to my old patterns of behavior. Please God don’t let me do that again.
The scriptures warn us not to trust or rely on ourselves (“trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding Proverbs 3:5”).
We tend to think that we have the power, apart from God, to control our sin and the temptations in our lives. Prior to knowing Christ as our personal Savior, we sometimes think that we can “clean” ourselves up before we come to repentance and make Christ Lord of our lives. If that were true, we wouldn’t need a Savior! And, even once we experience the grace and mercy of God and Christ does become Lord of our lives, we become complacent and begin to forget who is really in control and keeping us from falling back into those old patterns (“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. John 5:30).
We can’t and won’t control our cursing, we can’t and won’t control our lusts, we can’t and won’t control our temper, we can’t and won’t control our anxiety. To believe that we can and/or will is deception and we are deceiving ourselves. Only with the strength of the Lord can our sin be, somewhat, kept in check (The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in him and I am helped. Psalm 28:7). We still have free will and will sin again, but God will forgive a repentant heart. (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9).
We are weak and sinful, yet in our weakness we rely on the strength of God and therein become strong (But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9). Then we can say “I am so strong….not in my power but, in the power of the Holy Spirit”.
The enemy is going to tempt and attack us every day and the flesh is weeeeaaakkk. (“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41). But with the strength of the Lord, and repentance, when we do falter, we will never be separated from Him again because of our sin. Nor will his strength ever fail us. (My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26). We have to remember that we can accomplish no good thing, nor do we have the strength to combat the enemies attacks, apart from God. He is our strength, our defense and our salvation (The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Psalm 118:14).
I pray that we would stop relying on our own strength, that we would put aside our pride in thinking that we don’t need to be held accountable or that we ourselves have any kind of strength to resist the enemy. I pray that we would recognize and surrender our weakness(es) to God and glorify Him, the one who is our strength. For, when we are weak, then we are strong, because then we are working in His strength. I pray that we would submit to Him, the way we did that first time we came face to face with Jesus. And draw our strength and reliance from Him rather than ourselves.
If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and if you have been relying on your self to attempt to accomplish things that you are clearly unable to accomplish, or even to clean yourself up, before surrendering to Him, I pray surrender right now and that you would go to our Life Preserver Page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. God desires to nurture, care for, love and protect you. Repent and accept Jesus and find real strength. Once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-n-loved.com and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you and help you grow in your knowledge of, and relationship with, our Precious Savior-Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya!
