The Struggle. We all struggle with something. Whether it be drugs, sex, alcohol, greed, steeling, cheating, gossip, lust, lying, pride, anger, lack of faith, lack of trust, lack of patience, lack of focus, poor time management, our thoughts, our fears... any number of things. Don't fool yourself. You are struggling with something. No one has it all together. If you think you do, think again.
Giving up. There is a big difference between actually struggling with something and giving up. Struggling implies a fight. You are fighting back. You haven't lost hope that you can overcome your struggle. You haven't given up. You haven't quit. Be honest with yourself. Are you struggling, or have you given up? Giving up means that you have lost the will to fight. You continue to fail over and over again and don't see the point in fighting anymore. How could God forgive me after all the times I've failed? What's the point in repenting if I'm just going to fail again? How could God still love someone like me? Just a few questions you might be asking yourself.
Hope. There still is hope. God still loves you! In spite of everything that you have done, God still loves you. In spite of having a foreknowledge of every sin you have, are, or will ever commit before you were even born, God still loves you. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10. God loved us first, even when we did not love Him. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. Even while we rejected God, He loved us and sent his son to die for our sins. We are still forgiven! But there is more! Jesus did more for us on the cross than just dieing as a payment for our sins. His blood covers our sins, our crimson stains, and we appear before God holy and righteous! "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10. It is the Lord that cloths us with righteousness. Jesus' blood removes our crimson stains, and makes us white as snow!
A father and his son where watching a parade out of a window on the second floor of a building. Clad in red, a marching band past by. "Look at the white marching band, daddy!" Exclaimed the boy. Puzzled, the father looked out the window at passing marching band, clearly dressed in red. The father looked down at his son, and seen that he was looking out the pane of a red stained glass window. Stooping down, the father peered through the red stain glass to see what his child was seeing, and stared in shock. The marching band was dressed in white.
The struggle. We all struggle with something. But in your struggles, don't give up the fight. God's love for you is not conditional. No matter how often we fail, God's love for us is not diminished. If you have given up, and have lost the will to fight, and have fallen down, get back up. Confess your sins before God, and admit that you are powerless to face your struggle on your own. Seek the Lord for your strength. Know that you have been forgiven. Know that you are still loved by God. Know that the crimson stains of your sin have been washed away. Know that because of what Jesus did for you at the cross, you appear before God as white as snow.
I am going through numerous stuggles that look so little to me in light of other people's horrible sufferings and crosses, but God knows that it is still hurting me and weighing me down. But there is something the Spirit is prompting me to pray for, over and over; SURRENDER. God, give me the grace to surrender this struggle over to You. You alone can win this battle for me. I wave my flag, made white as snow by your forgiveness. Take the guns, Father. I surrender this battle, this life, over to You.
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