i think she really means it…

There is no perfect answer to the tension you pose. But it reflects so much of my own struggle at times, I felt the need to concur with you, Sister.

trying and giving up
responsibility and surrender

this is the tension that must be
and it was for Paul

How does one go from saying,

“For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Rom 7:19)

to

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:1)

By resting in what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ (Rom 7:25a), and realizing that it is He alone who will “Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish us” (1 Pet 5:10).

I have been pondering Jesus’ words in Matt 11:28-30 of late:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My Yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

True freedom is submission to Christ. Baffling. Yet so obvious to me at times that submission to self is tyranny, precisely because we are imperfect.

Submitting to the perfect Master, Jesus Christ…. now that’s freedom. The only way I know how to “do” this, is to abide in Him… the moment I am far from His written word, praying through the Scriptures, is usually when my mind and actions falter.

My journal is replete with times where I am confessing that I have been beating myself up for sin, instead of resting in the completed work of perfection which Christ, the second Adam, accomplished. Unlike the first, He did not choose evil. And so we are transferred from being “in Adam” to being “in Christ” from whom our Righteousness alone comes (Rom 5:12-21).

Praise be to Christ that our righteousness comes from God.

Thank you for such an open and spiritually reflective post. I am learning from the psalms that such prayers are encouraging to the souls of other believers. And it was something that I needed to consider again.

Your brother in Christ,
James

Hi Sara,

I do not know how, but you put into words something I struggle with regularly. Thank you for being so open & sharing that with us. I love the title; in fact, that would be a good word to describe me at this time with a lot of things – Trying. Thank you for putting my thoughts & feelings into words.

Do you mind if I steal this & put it up on my blog as a guest post from you?

God Bless,
Mindy

My friend, Mindy,

I think Megan once said it on her blog…we view others as so much better than us, assuming their strengths are those we preceive in them. (I looked for her exact quote, but couldn’t find it). In other words, we often feel so alone in our struggle, and assume everyone else has got it together. I guess that was the purpose of my post last week. I was struggling so much with my own heart, I simply thought every other godly woman has it together better than me (it can feel very lonely!). Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I continue to grow, and God’s absolutely amazing grace covers me. His perfect love and mercy is new every morning, and I am forever grateful for His presence in my life. My words are yours to use as you wish. Thank you for your encouragement and understanding. It’s good to know I’m not alone…

Sara