The Daily Struggle

 

I never thought that the Christian life would be so difficult. Not every day, but most days. I never thought that I would struggle with so much and that a lot of days I sometimes feel alone. Being a Christian most of my life, I have struggled so much while trying to understand it to the depth of what it really means and trying to live the life that that I was given without letting my sin and guilt hold me back.

When trying to think of what I could talk about today, I tried to think about something that a lot of people struggle with and I think I came up with something:  Struggle against sin is real and present every day. Everyone goes through it and not even Christians are immune to it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

No struggles or temptations are uncommon to man. I struggled with this for so long and maybe it’s because I thought that once I became a Christian, things were supposed to be flawless and right thereafter… But that is nothing close to what it has been. I think I also thought that once I was saved and became a Christian, any mistake I made from then after was considered me falling away from my faith.

It took me so long to realize that once I became a Christian, the struggle again sin and the passion to lead a life following Christ would become so much harder. That passion to glorify Christ isn’t something that just happens when you are saved, it grows over time. The trails and temptations you once struggled with before becoming saved, they don’t stop after. The daily struggle once you take that step to believe and follow Christ becomes so much harder because sin is more easily recognized and we live in such a fallen world full of sinners.

 

Once I started college, I followed the wrong people and made a lot of wrong decisions. But most importantly I didn’t put God first. Realizing that and trying to change that hasn’t been easy. The guilt of my past actions and just feeling like I messed up too much to fix my relationship with Christ has been something that held me back. I thought that because I grew up knowing what I was supposed to do and how to live, yet I didn’t follow it, meant that I messed up the once chance I had with Christ.

It took me until the past year to realize that sin is crippling and something that everyone struggles with daily. Our past actions and decisions do not define our identity in Christ. It took until someone basically shook me and said,” You have been saved; nothing you do now can push God away from loving and forgiving you!” Hearing that from my friend, tore down that wall that had been holding me back from being the Christian that I was saved to be. I had spent so much time fearing that I had messed up too much to still be loved. I thought that I had ruined the chance to follow Christ.

But then I realized this one thing that brought me to tears, “Christ had already chosen me before I was born. He chose me even though He knew I was going to fall many times and fall away from Him. He chose me even though when I ran from Him, He would always be there when I came running back.  He chose me because He loved me enough that He chose to die for me so that I may have life and not death. He chose me because He knew that I had something unique and that I could use to shine His light out towards others. Even though I am not worthy enough and I am a horrible sinner and definitely don’t deserve his mercy and grace, He still chose me and is forgiving and loving!”

 Realizing this and living it with keeping this in your mind and heart is not easy. The daily struggle is REAL! More than I thought it would be, but the fight is worth it. The fight to not give up is so so worth it.

What I want to leave my readers with is this: You are so loved! God loved us so much that He sent His only son, Jesus, to pay the ultimate price for all of our sins.  Once you realize this and believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth, life changes from that moment on. Christ empowers us with the strength and ability to overcome so many things in life. He blesses us in so many different ways, pointing us in the right direction. But sin is nasty and a daily struggle. Sin can NEVER take us away from Christ, but it can make it harder to lean and trust Christ and to grow in our relationship… But with faith and trust in Him, we can overcome! Romans 8:1 says: So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Never let your sin and guilt hold you back from being the Christian you were saved to be. It is not easy but when you realize you have been forgiven of your past, present, and future sins, nothing should hold you back from living that life to the fullest extent that you can. Glorify Him in everything you do, give thanks, forgive others, pray constantly, and love each other. Do everything for Him!

Stay tuned for more…