Like a strong wind

Have you ever felt like a tug-of-war is going on inside you? There are times when you know what the right thing to do is. You want to do it but you find yourself doing the opposite. It may be holding your tongue instead of lashing out. It could be shutting the fridge door instead of going back for more. Perhaps it’s stopping to help, rather than turning a blind eye to someone in need. This kind of struggle can sap our energy, darken our mood and add to our stress and anxiety. We long to be different but can’t quite make or sustain the change. The apostle Paul was a strong and mature follower of Jesus. Yet, he was able to share his own struggle in these words:

“It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

24I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? “(Romans 7:21-24 The Message)

Paul goes on to write about the way in which Jesus comes to help us with this struggle. He says,

“The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. (Romans 7:25 The Message)

Opening up our lives to Jesus Christ frees us to live differently. It doesn’t mean that we are perfect or sinless. But we receive his strength to change, to overcome and to win the tug-of-war more and more often. We can also bounce back from our failures, receiving his forgiveness instead of wallowing in guilt or regret. Paul describes it like this:

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2 The Message)

In what areas of your life do you struggle to win the tug-of-war? Have you asked for Christ’s help? Have you experienced the wind of Christ’s Spirit blowing the black clouds away?