Some days I don’t even make it out of bed before I’m saying and doing things I wish I wasn’t. Does that ever happen to you? You open your eyes and are immediately assailed by the evil one or at least the evil within your own heart? I often get up and pray that the Lord would keep me from sinning against Him and that I would honor God throughout the day. Then almost with the same breath I think, say, or do something not “Christian,” and I wonder if I’ve prayed in vain. I am the same person with the same sin problem after I pray as when I woke up. Maybe I really wasn’t sincere; maybe I didn’t really mean what I said in my prayer? Were those just empty words that only made it to the ceiling and fell back down?
Some people might say, “Well you were trying to stopping sinning in and of yourself but you need Jesus! Only He can truly eradicate sin in your life!” So how do we do that? How do we allow Jesus into our hearts to make changes in us that we in and of ourselves not only can’t do but often don’t want to do! The apostle Paul says we should be, “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). This isn’t a one stop shop! Our growth as Christians is just that, growth. We all have times where we fall, but do we give up or do we get back up and try again? Maybe God did answer my prayer by making me aware of my sin. That realization alone is a step forward. Then what? As Darryl said in his sermon over a week ago, we must pray for Godly repentance. Not simply being sorry for what we did but desiring for God to change our behavior and attitudes.
Last week, I drove to an appointment in Waynesboro. The whole time I was trying to get out of the house I thought about a few weeks ago when someone in church made the statement that being late is a choice. I could maybe argue about that if I managed to end up in a wreak or got stuck in construction but on this particular day I simply left the house later than I should have. Not only that but I hit every red light. Just before the last turn a big tractor trailer pulling some giant piece of equipment blocked the main entrance to the parking lot! I fussed and fumed while pulling into a parking spot. I was exactly on time (which in the world of health care means you are late).
After my appointment, I headed to work and once again caught many red lights. But something had changed. The receptionist and I have become more than just acquaintances. Because of the similarity of our jobs, we have bonded by sharing work related woes. However, after we discuss something that bothers us we turn our conversation to Jesus and how He sustains us and loves us. We lift each other up with promises from God that He will continue to be with us and help us to get up, to rely on Him, and try again. I left my appointment in a more Godly frame of mind than I arrived. So I decided instead of fussing about the lights that I would pray. With each red light, whomever came to my mind first got a prayer. The change in my attitude did not change my situation but my whole outlook was different to the point that I started praying for red lights! By the time I got to work, I had to double up on prayers because I ran out of lights.
Instead of praying each morning for deliverance from sin maybe I should have prayed for a new heart and a new perspective. “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,” (Acts 16:25). If our focus would be heavenward instead of toward earthly problems, we would receive not only the help we desire but also be great witnesses for Christ. Anyone can praise God when things are going well. When plans go awry and we get caught at all the red lights and our spirits starts to grumble, we have the chance choose a different path, to receive fresh winds from the Spirit who stays our minds and hearts on what really matters. It is much better to be late on Earth and on time with heaven.