Why
Bother?
How much more should we submit to the
Father of our spirits and live!
Hebrews 12:9
Elgin was screaming at God, “Why
should I even bother?! I get it right nine out of ten times, then
boom! my life comes crashing down because of one bad choice.
What’s up with that?!” After a long silent pause he raised his
head…and his voice, “You never answer when I ask the tough
questions!”
The truth was Elgin already knew the
answer. He knew what he was doing when he’d made that one wrong
choice. He just didn’t like experiencing the after-the-fact
consequences of giving-in to temptation.
In the next breath he screamed, “Yes!
I knew it was wrong! So why didn’t You stop me?!” He also
knew the answer to that one, “Yeah, yeah…free-will,” he
muttered and slouched back on the couch. “I get so tired of being
free. I always manage to screw it up. Why bother?” Now self-pity
had set in. This was a recurring scenario: fight the good fight
for awhile…experience closeness to God; get complacent…stop
asking for God’s assistance…get tired of fighting and give in;
suffer consequences and blame God, asking stupid questions like why
bother?
†
Being holy isn’t easy. Most of our
yielding to temptation stems from our inability to determine reality
from counterfeit. Satan is all about counterfeiting God’s promises.
God says, “There is a reason to
resist temptation; sin will ruin your life. Through the power of My
Holy Spirit you can be delivered from sin’s temptation.”
Satan counters, “It’s foolish to
resist! You’re destined to fail! God’s promise is a lie! Why
bother?”
The tug-of-war between our conscience
and free-will can be wild and violent until it’s brought under
control. Undisciplined, our heart says, I want what I want, and I
want it now! The lack of spiritual discipline creates self-will
run amok; in the end we reap turmoil.
The more we actively resist temptation,
looking to God for strength, the more peace and confidence reign in
our hearts.
Until we submit to the Father, allowing
Him to make His vision of us a reality, we will
continually settle for the counterfeit.
Prayer
“I submit my spirit to
Yours, LORD. Discipline me when I need it and
teach me how to share in Your holiness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
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