If I asked someone to tell me some of the things they struggle with in their effort to live healthy I would hear things like, "oh I need to eat better", "I need to exercise more", I need to cut out pop" or "I need to pay more attention to what time I am eating at night". And all of those would be very valid things. They are all things that if changed would lead to a healthier life. I know this because I have had this very talk with people. They don't have a problem seeing, pointing out or telling me what they know needs changed. What they do have a problem with is the change itself. Even when people know that the choices they are making are leading to bad health, they will continue to make them. Some because it's just easier, some because they like the unhealthy stuff to much and some because they just can't push themselves to do it better. I'm not speculating here..these are very real conversations that I've had with people.
Today I want to be very blunt and very real about our spiritual health. And when I say our, I mean you...me...anyone who is reading this. Let's get real for a minute, and then do something about it.
Just like with our physical health, each of us are doing things on a daily basis that is harming, or maybe even killing our spiritual health. These are sins that we allow to take root in our life and live there. For this blog we will call them "struggles", but I really do mean sinful things.
Each of us have things that we just won't do, won't tolerate and wouldn't give way to in our life. Some of those things are extreme and it's easy to say "I would never do that". For instance, I don't ever see myself struggling with murder... but there are things I struggle with that are just as sinful, and really are struggles. Things the flesh loves, doesn't want to let go of or has convinced you that you "need" in your life to be "happy", or "safe", or maybe even "secure". Obviously something as ugly as murder is easy, but was about something like envy, greed, bitterness, lust, selfishness, unforgiveness, dishonesty, sexual sins......or whatever it may be for you? How much of a grip does something like that have on you that you are just choosing to close your eyes to? How honest can you be with yourself (and let God be with you) to say that this "thing" really is a struggle for me. It really has it's claws down in me and I have learned how to close my eyes to it and let it live in my life, rather that open my eyes up to it's ugliness and deal with it. Cut it out at the very roots and rip it out of my life before it causes any more damage than it already has. And most of the time we have our eyes closed to the damage it's causing too. Just like we say "oh this snack, this donut, this candy or this meal it's going to make me fat"....we will also say "this sin, this struggle, this one time isn't going to send me to hell". Let that idea camp out in your head long enough and I promise you it's going to wreak havoc on you more than you know. You cannot choose to just close your eyes to the struggle (or sin) in your own life that goes against God's word. You cannot choose to just close your eyes to the sin around you that goes against God's word. You must always be alert to what the enemy is trying to bring into your life to get you to be comfortable with. Just like some unhealthy choices over a period of time can make you overweight, some unhealthy spiritual choices can also take you to a place you never intended to be.
I have been meditating on these verses for a few days now. They are bold, they are blunt and they couldn't be more truthful. James 1:14-16 says "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when its full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren." There are not words like "if" or "may be" in this scripture. It is "when you are drawn away by your own desires", "sin will bring forth death" and "don't be deceived". This is a very real warning! The enemy just wants us to relax, close our eyes and pretend like that is for everyone else. He wants us to believe that we have a grip on our "thing" (whatever it is), and it doesn't have a grip on us. Lies, lies and more lies. If a doctor told you to change something about your life or it is going to kill you, point blank. Would you continue doing it and just act like he didn't really mean "death"? I would hope not! You would use that info as a wake up call and change what needed to be changed. Ask God for a wakeup call today and let Him show you what He desires for you to change before it brings forth spiritual death and/or destruction in your life.
There is a song that has been around for a while by Switchfoot called "This Is Your Life" and in the chorus of that song they repeat again and again "don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes". Very powerful and very true words. Don't choose to close your eyes to the things in your life that God wants to expose to you. He knows the more you allow Him to filter out of your life, the closer you will get to Him...and this is His true desire for us all.
God, thank you that Your word is blunt, bold and full of truth. Thank You that You love us enough to tell us what will happen if we stay on the path we are on. Wake us up TODAY to even the smallest things in our life that we have become comfortable with that go against Your word. Help us give our struggles to you and leave them there. Not walk away from You still taking them with us. Get real with us today and give us the courage to get real with ourselves. In Jesus name, Amen.
Click here for the lyrics to the Switchfoot song "This Is Your Life"
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