RESISTING TEMPTATION..CONQUERING LUST

Resisting Temptation

1. Pray for protection. As in the Lord's Prayer, pray regularly "Lead us not into temptation" (Matthew 6:13).

2. Don't feel guilty. Temptation is not wrong, so don't condemn yourself for being tempted. Put your energy into fighting it. Self condemnation and doubt about who we are in Christ come from Satan.

3. Avoid exposure to temptation. Each of us has areas of life in which we are particularly vulnerable. Know yours, and stay off the premises! (Romans 13:14)

4. Think protectively. "Be self-controlled and alert," Peter writes. "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

5. Resist quickly. Don't play with temptation. "Do not give the devil a foothold" (Ephesians 4:27).

6. Conquer through Christ. You can get past temptation successfully with God's help. Our mediator Jesus Christ understands and the Holy Spirit is able. We need only ask. (Hebrews 2:18, 1Corinthians 10:13, Philippians 4:13)

The Consequences of Lust

Mental/Emotional: Shame and guilt accompany lustful behavior. At first, the lusting person is able to turn their thoughts "on and off"; however, this becomes progressively more difficult, until the lustful thoughts become an obsession. Though the thoughts initially bring pleasure, they eventually bring disgust and shame, and fear of exposure consumes the individual.

Physical: As individuals attempt to hide their lust, the attempt increases stress-related illnesses such as ulcers, colitis, and general muscular tension. The sexual arousal response becomes conditioned or connected with the object of lust. In the case of pornography, the initial sexual excitement drops unless there is an escalation to more shocking material.

Relational: Lust often leads to a self-consciousness which becomes a barrier to relationships. Salacious fantasy produces unrealistic and sometimes unattainable expectations about the physical appearance or sexual behavior of one's partner. Pornography degrades not only those individuals depicted, but all those they represent. It frays the bonds of mutual respect that are necessary to hold society together.

Spiritual: God has said that lust is a sin which builds a spiritual barrier. In gratifying our sinful nature, we turn from what God has planned for us and we seek fulfillment in the wrong place, finding spiritual emptiness. In this darkness we may begin to believe the lie that God can no longer love us.

Conquering Lustful Thinking

1. Pray. You need to pray specifically and often. Ask God to give you the purity of thinking that is characteristic of Christ. (Romans 8:5) Ask other Christians to pray for you and be accountable to them.

2. Avoid exposure. Breaking the power of any addiction requires breaking habit patterns. Minimize your exposure to the temptation. Avoid certain places, people, or programs, anything fraught with temptation. Choose wholesome alternatives.

3. Stop destructive thoughts. Since lust begins in the mind, say "stop" immediately, when an unwanted thought intrudes. You must choose to oppose the unwanted thought, moving it from thought to action. When you are alone, say it aloud; giving it extra strength because it goes through the sensory channels. Resist evil. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

4. Replace destructive thoughts. Think of anything else, whether neutral or constructive: count, recite a verse, sing a hymn, and count your blessings. Replace evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

5. Seek healing of memories. Everyone carries wounds from the past that remain unhealed. The healing process frequently requires repentance, forgiveness, restitution, sometimes face-to-face reconciliation, and always God's intervention. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

6. Seek God's new nature. Without a commitment to be God's person, the other strategies will fail. When the Holy Spirit controls us, He will produce holiness and self-control in our lives. We all have legitimate needs that need filling; God is able to do this in wholesome, life-giving ways. (Colossians 3:10)

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "EVANGELICAL?

- a response by Dr. Leon Morris*

An evangelical is a gospel man, a gospel woman. "Evangelical" derives from 'evangel': "gospel". By definition an evangelical is someone concerned for the gospel. This means more than that he preaches the gospel now and then. It means that for him the gospel of Christ is central. It is, of course, his message and he preaches it, constantly. But it is more than a subject of preaching. The gospel is at the centre of his thinking and living.

The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians of the gospel he had brought them by saying that it is of the first importance that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor.15:3). It seems to me that everything that matters to the evangelical arises from this basic proposition.

"Christ died." The cross is the great, basic act of God. "For our sins." That is the stubborn fact that made the cross necessary. It points to the truth that there is that in every member of the human race which makes for evil rather than for good. This has been caricatured as though evangelicals were saying that every member of the race is as bad as he can be. They are not. They are saying that none of us is perfect. None of us always does what deep in his heart of hearts he knows he ought to do. None of us measures up to God's standard.

This stops the evangelical from being swept off his feet by the promise of any earthly utopia. He will join as readily as the next in any scheme for the betterment of others. It is part of the outworking of the love he sees on the cross that he does so. These days we are realizing more of the importance of this part of our duty to our neighbor than we used to. That is all to the good. But the evangelical does not put his trust in human endeavors. He is a pessimist. He sees that dictatorships of the left and dictatorships of the right alike end up in oppression. He sees that democracies all too often end up in muddle and soulless bureaucracy. He will do his best to make any system work, but his trust is not in systems. Every system has to work on the raw material of sinners. The evangelical is clear-sighted about this. That man is a sinner puts a firm limit on his ability to do good.

And it puts an end to the possibility of his attaining the ultimate good. The fact that he is a sinner means that he cannot work out his eternal salvation. Sin leaves its mark on life here and has consequences for the hereafter.

But the great, wonderful truth is that "Christ died for our sins." What was impossible for men God in Christ has perfectly accomplished. He has defeated sin now and for eternity. The evangel is a message about a salvation with both temporal and eternal consequences.

Evangelicals insist with Scripture that the atonement is objective as well as subjective. It does have its effect on us, but its effect is not limited to our subjective experience. Whole books have been written on the atonement and they will doubtless continue to be written until Christ comes back. They help us understand a little of that great atoning act but none of them fully explains it. How can they? They are written by sinful people, people who are themselves immersed in the world's evil and are making their own contribution to it. They cannot stand outside it and see what needs to be done about it. But for the evangelical the significant thing is not our inability to explain it. The significant thing is that Christ died for our sins. Whatever needed to be done He has done. Nothing can be added to that perfect divine work.

For that reason the evangelical will find himself called upon to protest from time to time against systems which claim to be Christian but which do try to add to Christ's work, whether by calling on men to accomplish their salvation by their good deeds or by their liturgical observances or by anything else. Christ, no less than he Died, no less that. All our shabby shibboleths vanish before His sacrificial love.

Confronted with the cross I may respond and turn to Christ in faith and love. Or I may harden my heart. To respond to Christ's love is to become a different person. The whole set of the life is changed. Evangelicals have always insisted on the necessity for conversion. This may happen in one sudden, blinding experience (as with Saul of Tarsus). Or it may happen gradually (as with Timothy). The time is immaterial. The turning is everything. And it happens to all who come to Christ. The evangelical despairs of no one. The evangelical is an optimist.
It is easy to see the cross as a magnificent incentive to laziness. Christ has done everything. I can do nothing. Therefore I will do nothing. But that is not the way the New Testament sees it. John can write, "Herein is love, not that we love God (we will never understand love if we start from the human end), but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Then he goes on, " Beloved, if God so loved us we ought to love one another, too" (1 Jn. 4:10-11). Notice John's verb. We ought, we 'owe it' to love one another. Love is not an occupation for somewhat soppy and sentimental citizens with a distaste for determined action. It is a demand made on all God's people as their response to His great love and it is love that overflows in activities for others as 1 Corinthians 13 makes clear for all time. Love is demanding. Christ did not die, as someone has put it, "for the flim-flam of respectable Christianity". Away with that kind of nonsense! Christ died for our sins, died to put them away so that we become loving people.

We of the human race know a love for attractive people, for beautiful people, for those who love us. Christ's love is for sinners (Rom. 5:8), a love which puts away sin and rebukes all our self centredness so that love becomes our mainspring. This means in the first instance that we love other believers. The evangelical sees the church, the beloved community, as an integral part of the purpose of God. And in the second instance it means loving those outside. It means being loving people, for we are the followers of Him who died for sinners. It means evangelism as we bring to sinners the best gift we have.

Evangelicals have sometimes been regarded as hard-liners, people without sympathy for those who deviate by a hairsbreadth from our respectable orthodoxy. Who can say that we are guiltless? "Envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness" are endemic in the human race and we have our share. Repentance for our past sins and a discovery of ways in which we can show that loving response which the New Testament sees as flowing from the cross is therefore an authentic part of evangelicalism.

But the cross speaks not only about love but about lowliness. Nowadays we are told that "small is beautiful". Put in these terms the thought is new. But its essence has always been part of evangelical religion. The cross condemns all self-seeking. How can anyone who has entered into the meaning of the cross seek great things for himself? The evangelical is a servant of God's people, a servant of the church, and a servant of the community of which is a part. He is one who has heard a call to take up his cross (Luke. 9:23). His life style is different because of what the cross means to him.

There is a further implication. The standard set before him is one he cannot reach. He knows that. But he knows too that on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down on the infant church in the likeness of cleansing fire and powerful wind. "It was not yet 'spirit'", John wrote concerning Jesus' life, "because Jesus was not yet glorified" (Jn7:39). But when Jesus had accomplished His great work the Spirit came. The indwelling and empowering of the Spirit is an integral part of the Christian life as the evangelical understands it. He uses words like 'sanctification' and 'holiness' which speak of the need for a standard he can never reach for himself but which speak also of what the Spirit does in the believer.

"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." The reference to Scripture means that the death of Christ was in line with the will of the Father. A great divine purpose was worked out in the atonement, a purpose revealed in the Bible.

Evangelicals have always put a great emphasis on the place of the Bible. This has not been out of perverse dogmatism, but from a profound conviction that it is important to the Christian faith. Many religions in the world are religions of ideas. One could say that in those cases it is the ideas and not the people who originated them that matter. It could be said that it does not greatly matter whether Gautama Buddha or Muhammed ever lived. What matters is that there are certain great ideas associated with their names and that by those ideas millions of our fellow men live.

But this kind of reasoning does not apply to Christianity. It is true that Christianity has some great ideas and it does not matter greatly who originated them. But what Paul is telling us is something different. He is saying that something happened. Christ died. This is not simply an idea. It is a historical fact. The gospel message is that once God came into history in the person of Jesus Christ. He came to live a life of lowly service and to die on Calvary's cross "for our sins".

Christianity is a historical religion in a way that no other religion is. Unless we have access to the facts we are cut off from our roots. And our access is by way of "the Scriptures". They are the means God has given us to bring us the gospel. So evangelicals have always thankfully received this good gift of God and have regarded it as of the utmost importance that we have a Bible on which we can rely. They point to the express teaching of our Lord himself and to that of the apostles. And they point to the necessity for the facts of the gospel to be reliably attested.

There are other things that evangelicals hold. I am not giving an exhaustive list of evangelical convictions. I am saying that they all stem from the evangel. The whole system of the evangelical is the outworking of the gospel. With whatever blunderings and mistakes the evangelical tries to unfold the implications of salvation through the cross and to live by them. The evangelical man or woman is, above all else, a product, and a bearer of the gospel.

Reprinted with permission from "Working Together", the magazine of the Australian Evangelical Alliance, 1998 Issue 4.

*Rev. Dr. Leon Morris was a founding member and former Chairman of the Evangelical Alliance of Victoria. A former principal of Ridley College, Melbourne, he is an internationally renowned New Testament scholar, and has had a very fruitful ministry worldwide, as a speaker, theologian, and author of fifty one books, of which nearly two million copies are in circulation.

WHAT IS A BAPTIST?

Often people choose the church they attend on the basis of the friendliness of the people, the church or type of church their families have attended, or even the appearance of the church building. More important than all of these things, though, ought to be the beliefs that the local church holds as central to their belief, preaching, and practice.

Historically, Baptists find their origins in the Free (Anabaptist) Churches. These churches existed from the time of the apostles. Even though the name "Baptist" was not used until the 1600's, the Baptist Distinctives were practiced by small, persecuted groups during the Dark Ages and the Reformation. Biblical faith and practice forced these to separate from two powerful traditional groups: the Roman Catholic Church, and the Protestant Churches. (During the Protestant Reformation, these formerly Catholic churches tried to return to a more Biblical pattern. They still rejected most of the Baptist Distinctives.) For this reason, Bible-centered Baptist Churches are not Protestant churches. They existed long before the Reformation.

Beliefs are not worth much unless they are translated into actions. Based on what the Bible teaches, we feel very strongly about the below principles, called the Baptist Distinctives:

B
Biblical Authority The Bible is our only authority for faith and pratice. No insight, testimony, or decree of man, regardless of his piety or position, can ever supersede the Bible. This distinctive is the primary Baptist distinctive. All others spring from this absolute trust in the Scriptures. Read: 2 Timothy 3:16

A
Autonomy of the Local Church Each local assembly is self-governing without any outside hierarchy of conventions. The local church is an independent body accountable to no one but our Lord. There is no person or organization on earth that can dictate what a local church can or should do. This does not prevent voluntary cooperation with other churches as long as such activity does not violate the church's independence or affiliate the church with false teaching.
Read: Acts 15; Matthew 18:15-17

P
Priesthood of the Believer Each believer is privileged to come to God individually without human or saintly intervention. Every believer today is a priest and may enter the presence of God directly through only one Mediator, our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. There is no other human mediator. Along with the privilege of priesthood, there is the responsibility as priests to live a life separated from sin and devoted to God. Read: Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Peter 2:9

T
Two Ordinances Two commands issued and instituted by Christ to His Church to be obeyed are Believers' Baptism and the Lord's Table. An "ordinance" is a picture of saving truth, as opposed to a "sacrament" which is proposed to be a means of receiving divine grace. We practice only believer's baptism by immersion. This contradicts two practices common among Roman Catholic and Protestant churches: infant baptism and sprinkling (pouring). Immersion is the only acceptable mode for baptism because it alone preserves the picture of saving truth. No other form pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The Lord's Table (also called The Lord's Supper or communion) is a symbolic ordinance, picturing Christ's body broken for our sins and His blood shed for our redemption. It helps us remember His death, and inspires us while looking forward to His coming. Read: Acts 8:36; Romans 6:1-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23, 24; 2 Corinthians 11:23-26

I
Individual Soul Liberty Every person has the right to worship God according to his conscience without coercion. Read: Romans 14:4, 5

S
Saved Church Membership Church membership is open to all who have exhibited repentance toward God and exercised faith in Christ. Membership is strictly a matter of obedience; it bestows no grace. Read: Acts 2:44, 47

T
Two Offices The Lord has established two offices, Pastor and Deacon, to minister to His flock. There is no additional hierarchy of offices. Pastors are also called bishops, overseers, or elders in the New Testament. Deacons are given to help the pastor in the daily administration and decision making of the church. Read: 1 Timothy 3:1-13

S
Separation of Church and State The Lord has established the State to administer civil, secular government and the Church to minister the man's spiritual needs. The two are separate entities never to be intertwined. Read: Matthew 22:21; Acts 4:29

Even though the name "Baptist" has been misused by many, we retain the name because the historic Baptist position best describes our position in matters of doctrine, faith, and practice. We share similar positions with other groups who base their beliefs completely on Bible teaching, even though they may not choose the "Baptist" name. Still, the name is meant to clearly identify us with these distinctives.

POTTER & CLAY

The analogy of the potter and the clay are used several times in the Bible (Isaiah 64:8, Jeremiah 18:1-10, etc.). I came across one interesting story on this matter…

There was a visitor to a famous potter and as he stood there he watched something he really didn't understand. This famous potter was beating a lump of clay with his wooden mallet. Just pounding the daylights out of it. The visitor thought, "What is going on here? You don't beat clay! You mold it and make it." And here he was beating the clay so he asked the potter, "Why are you doing this?" And the potter said, "Wait and see. It won't be long and you'll find out." And so, the man stood there. Eventually the pounding stopped, the lump of clay was placed there on the table. He stood there and looked at it, and finally he saw the top of it start to just quiver a little bit and he looked and lo and behold, he could see little lumps forming on the top of the clay. "What are those?" And the potter said, "Those are air bubbles coming out. I have to get all the air out of that clay, otherwise those air bubble will cause that pot to crack, and you don't want to be a crack-pot. It will mar the pot. It will destroy the pot."

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING?

WHY SUFFERING…

There are many reasons why God allows suffering. The following webpages also discuss the issue of suffering and God:

§ Why Would a Good God Allow Suffering?http://www.rbc.org/ds/q0106/ ,
§ 10 Reasons To Believe in A God Who Allows Suffering http://www.rbc.org/rtb/4rsn/.

In my own personal experiences and study, I have seen many reasons why God’s children suffer. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. The testimony of Paul…

“7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Apparently the Apostle Paul had, on top of the suffering he endured at the hands of persecutors within and without the church, he also had his own personal struggle - an affliction that is not clearly specified. Perhaps some form of sickness, but the point here is that in our weakness, we learn to depend on an all-powerful God. There are many times in my life when I convinced myself and others that all I needed to go on was a strong willpower, guts, determination and well, connections. I sought what I considered to be right before me, never mind the consequences. God has allowed me to suffer in order to effect a paradigm shift : to put me in a situation where all the things, resources and abilities I thought I could depend on failed me, so I would call on Him.

I’ve been studying the life of Paul, who begun his career as a Pharisee and an active persecutor of the church (Acts 9:1). He was present when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned (Acts 8). I’ve seen his life turn around. He would later go on to suffer much for the sake of Christ (Acts 9:16):

“23Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness”. (2 Corinthians 11:23-30)

“7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body… 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (1 Corinthians 4:7-12, 16:18)

Consider those passages. Light and momentary troubles? I don’t think so, but in contrast with 1.) what Christ has done, 2.) what Christ is doing in the life of Paul, and 3.) the reward that awaits him, Paul can confidently state it in such a manner. Elsewhere, he states:

“17Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”. (Romans 8:17-18)

Based on the above texts, I learned that:

§ Suffering teaches me to be God-reliant, not self-reliant
§ Suffering keeps me from being proud of myself
§ Suffering teaches me to trust in God’s power
§ Suffering makes me focus on what is unseen and eternal and not on

what is seen and temporary
§ Suffering allows me to share in Christ’s glory

2. The testimony of Peter…

“21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”[e] 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24)

“ 12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

To follow Christ is to march to the beat of a different drum, to obey a different Master, and to earn the enmity of the world, the flesh or the sinful nature, and the devil. Christianity, while still in this world, is no rose garden. Suffering is not incidental: in fact, it is expected!

“6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

Based on the above texts, and also some study about Peter, I learned that:

§ Suffering refines my faith
§ Suffering is following Christ’s example
§ Suffering is participating in Christ’s suffering
§ Suffering keeps my focus on the future and to keep me from being

enamored by the present
§ Suffering keeps me from complacency

3. The Book of Hebrews…

“7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:7-11)

Suffering can be for disciplinary reasons. We can be chastised when we do wrong, and in the process, we learn. We become better persons if we allow ourselves to learn from discipline. It, in the end, makes us better, more useful, and more prudent persons.

Based on the above texts, I learned that:

§ Suffering can be a form of god’s discipline for sin in one’s life
§ Suffering molds character in a person, particularly holiness
§ Suffering is a sign of being a child of God

4. The testimony of James…

“2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).

Based on the above texts, I learned that:

§ Suffering can be testing the quality of one’s faith
§ Suffering develops perseverance
§ Learning perseverance from suffering leads to spiritual maturity

5. The testimony of Job…

The Bible is replete with stories about suffering, and none is more painful than the story of Job. He was a “blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8) Under the testing of Satan, Job lost everything: wealth, children, status – he lost everything except his false friends, who accused him of unconfessed sin and disobedience, and a nagging wife, who encouraged him to “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Under severe testing, he praised God and remained faithful. Later, he was restored by God and even more richly blessed than before (Job 42:12).

Based on his story, I learned that:

§ We cannot be tested without God’s approval
§ We glorify God when we patiently endure suffering
§ Suffering has an END
§ We reveal our true character when stripped of everything material that

we hold dear - when we have no money, no friends, no home, no health,

when we are stripped of the superficial trappings that we think define

our existence or our selves, we come closest to seeing ourselves

objectively – THAT WE ARE NOTHING WITHOUT GOD!

CONCLUSION

Suffering can be brought about by different reasons, depending on the context or circumstances…it can be a consequence of sin, a process of undergoing discipline, to refine character, exercise faith in God, a test, a reminder not to put too much confidence in oneself or in material things…

For me, suffering has broken my much-vaunted pride, that bastion of self that I’ve held on to when everything else was crumbling…It has shown me how little, how insignificant, in fact, how pathetic I am…

It has led me to Jesus Christ…I would not cry out to Him until I reached rock-bottom, and so in His love, He let me sink so low. They say when you’re at the pits, there’s nowhere to look but up…

He humbled me, yes I would say that He broke me. God allowed me to suffer so I would call on Him, and run to Him. He brought me to the brink of despair so I would see the greatness of His redemption.

Until I realized my helplessness, and my need for Him, He let me wallow a bit, until I literally was brought down on my knees, crying out to Him.

I did think that perhaps god was simply being sadistic – a sort of monstrous ego trip or a kid playing with an ant farm. Or perhaps he was being vindictive for all the times I was deliberately disobedient. Only later did I appreciate why God allowed me to suffer: it was because HE LOVED ME.

I am not enjoying “the good life.” I don’t have a lot of so-called determinants of success. I’m still in the furnace, but I now understand why: I am still “under construction.”