God, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, meets all of our spiritual and emotional needs: the need to feel loved, pursued, affirmed, wanted, secure, joyful and purposed—-it’s all found in Christ. I don’t know about you, but it can be hard for me to continually believe that. I have moments when it’s so clear to me that I am whole in Christ….. but I have many other moments where I doubt, fear and find that what I “feel” contradicts everything I see in Scripture.
Over the last year, I’ve noticed in my own life that the driving force behind my sinful behaviors is almost always me trying to meet the needs of my soul myself. In moments of stress, loneliness or self pity, I find that I tend to be resistant toward the promises of God in Christ. Jesus says, “Come to me, you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your soul”—-but for some reason, namely my stupidity, sometimes I find it hard to rest in Jesus and find it easier to fulfill my needs myself. Whether that be in the way of the sensual pleasure of pornography, or seeking affirmation and attention from people in sinful ways, etc., I try to find my own way of satisfaction instead of finding rest in believing that I have continual affirmation, love, security and purpose from God in Jesus Christ.
“Belief” tends to sound so passive, but I find that I have continually fight to believe. I know that can start to sound like works-based salvation, but I assure you that’s not what I mean. I’m not talking about doing works to be saved… but rather, fighting for the position of my heart to be right before God. I have to fight, by the power of the Spirit, to subject my heart in faithful belief to God and His Word. And when I say “by the power of the Spirit”, I’m not just throwing that in there to sound biblical. The Spirit must help me to find rest in believing God, or it will not happen. Realizing this has been vital for me. I’ve experienced so much power in really being in desperation for the Spirit to come into me and do what I can’t do.
My best weapon against Satan, the enticement of the world, and my flesh is to desperately throw myself on the mercies of God in Christ and beg for His Spirit to enable to my heart to believe all that He has revealed about Himself and His love for me in Christ. This is what I mean by fighting to meet my needs in the gospel.
Thank you. Struggles of my own have come up lately…so glad to know I am not alone in the battle
I hear you! I have struggled in the same way. I find myself crying out: “Please Lord, give me your Spirit and let me know this isn’t just another self-help program. I need to know it’s You!” I’d explain that, but I have a feeling I don’t have to.
-St. Thomas Aquinas
Just want to share the old hymn song:
In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
?Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin?s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life?s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
?Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand
I will stand, I will stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I stand
Love, love, love this song!
Amen! Encouraging message. Be praying.
“Those who come to Christ to have thier needs met rather than to repent will become disillusioned.” Ray Comfort
I agree – I think this goes for all areas of our lives. If God is not somewhere, that part is dead and will not make it to the “other” side. And we will lose it for ever, because we chose to cling to it now.
looks like you need to fight against sin!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:1
Matt, I hear your frustration and anxiety and I understand. It took many, many years for the Lord to bring about deliverance in many differing areas in my life. It’s all about placing our Trust and Hope in the finished work of Christ. It is in Him we have our victory. Struggling with sin and failures will continue on in our lives until the very end of it. It truly makes us more aware of our fleshly sinfulness, and trusting in the Lord to bring about victory, works patience, and believe it or not it strengths our faith in Him. So I just want to say you are on the right track, do not despair, that is the walk of a believer. It will get rid of self-righteousness, because it will be all about His Grace being sufficient for us, and that what ever victories do come, it will ALL have been accomplished by His Strength, His Will, by His Power, and nothing, absolutely nothing of us. That is why we will be able to give Him ALL the Glory, for it is in Him we have complete victory.
You are saying many things that I’ve been feeling myself for a few weeks. I’ve had some depressing times for many reasons. Suffice it to say, I have had times of doubt myself. But I realize a lot of the reason I suffer like this is because I’m NOT in the word and I’m NOT worshiping like I should be.
A few weeks ago, in fact, I was in that half-way between sleep and wakefulness and my mind started thinking (because of issues and stresses in my life right now) that it would be so much easier to live life as an atheist. You don’t have to be responsible for your actions if you don’t believe in absolute truth.
Of course, I absolutely do NOT believe what my mind was thinking. But it’s easy for Satan to get in there and cause us to doubt when we’re not fully relying on the Word of God.
I want you to know that you are loved and you are a strong influence to many people. I can see that through the positive posts here. God is working through you to help others with same-sex desires. But I want you to know also that your posts go beyond that to other sin as well.
God bless you!
hard battle, failures, doubts, depression…but there is the only rout that goes through the cross to the LIFE…and realizing more and more that we have nothing to loose in Christ…we press on! you all have peace!
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:17-18