“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NLT)
Our most troubling thoughts, the ones with which we wrestle most, and which cause us the most heartache, aren’t those generated by others, but those that are formulated in our own mind. The conversations we have with ourselves can be the most convincing and, at times, the most destructive.
One powerful way the enemy defeats us is through partial obedience or procrastination. We don’t say “no,” just “not yet!” We wrestle with the implications of what the Lord is asking us to do, but in our reluctance to fully obey, we omit our immediate obedience, which is sin. Too often the “not yet” turns into “no” because we never get around to doing what the Lord asked us to do.
To avoid or postpone a clear command of God, then later use that command to postpone or avoid something else the Lord has clearly instructed us to do is itself disobedience. To do anything other than what God says to do when He says to do it is disobedience and will bring about discipline from the Lord.
Some of the most heartbreaking words in Scripture are Saul’s words to the Prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 15:24-26: “Then Saul admitted to Samuel, ‘Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”
As is often the case with us, Saul’s words seemed sincere in that moment, but they didn’t reflect an attitude of true repentance other than to avoid the consequences of his actions and to make every effort to put things back as they were before his sin. He was sorry for the results of his sin, not for the sin itself.
How like us when the curtain opens, and the world sees our sin and its resultant shame. We so want to defend ourselves, cast blame, and try with everything within us to turn back the hands of time, not because we regret what we did, but that we got caught. Satan had blinded us, as he blinded Saul to the results of our unwillingness to fully obey God.
We weave a web of deception in our own mind, somehow believing that we’ve done nothing wrong. “We’re going to obey, just not now. Let’s ride it out and see what happens. Maybe I won’t have to do anything.” But nothing turns into something, but it’s never enough. We’ve dug such a hole for ourselves it’s hard to see the light of a new day. It becomes hopeless, thus rendering ourselves helpless.
The reality is, it’s too often no longer simply a spiritual problem we can take to the Lord, seek His forgiveness and move on. It becomes an interconnected web of destruction within our own mind and heart. We believe the lies for so long we can no longer even recognize truth, let alone obey it. We become locked in a cycle of self-defeat that leads to despair, that becomes a vicious spiral of defeat and self-destruction.
It didn’t end well for Saul, but because of Jesus, there’s still hope for you and me. However, we must be done with procrastination and lies, come clean with ourselves and the Lord, and seek His forgiveness and restoration. But because of the heinous nature of this sin, it also demands partnership with someone who has a heart for God and who will hold us accountable. If we’re not up for that, it might be too late.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 