“Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24b–25a).
Have you ever had a dream where you were trying to run away from someone or something scary like a monster, and you just couldn’t run fast enough, or you tripped and fell while you were running? It seems like the dream goes on and on and on. You are just about ready to be captured by the big, ugly creature when you hear your mom calling you for breakfast. What a relief!
Many times, believers can face struggles with sin, when they feel as if they just can’t overcome it. Some believers know they shouldn’t be angry and hateful, but being angry and hateful happens so easily to them. Other believers want to tell others about the gospel, but when they have an opportunity to do just that, they just freeze in fear, and the opportunity slips by.
If you can identify with either of these, take heart! The apostle Paul faced a similar situation. He wrote, “For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:19).
This doesn’t sound fun at all. It is a difficult situation to be in as a believer. Believers know that obeying God is their first priority as a child of God. But there is a part inside that still wants to sin, and it is strong. This struggle wasn’t there before the believer put faith in Christ, but now the struggle gets intense sometimes. Take heart; Paul faced this very same struggle too!
Paul described himself as a “wretched man” because of his inability to do what was right. He asked, “Who shall deliver me the body of this death?” Then he said that the solution is to thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord because God is bigger than your toughest sin. Trust Him and thank Him.
God is bigger than your toughest sin. You may not be strong enough, but He is.
My response:
» Do I believe that God is bigger than the toughest sin that can ever tempt me?
» How can I trust Him to help me obey?