Silas
Beloved of All
Your cry of being tired and drained and tormented daily is heard, and your honest desire not to sin and to have peace mentally and physically matters deeply to God.
Part of what makes this so exhausting is trying hard in your own strength and finding obstacles at every turn. The Bible describes sin as missing the mark, failing to be what God wants us to be. You can be sincerely trying to hit the mark and still miss, and that missing still needs forgiveness. The law shows us what sin is, it reveals the target we miss, but it does not give us the power to hit it. In fact, when we live as if we must earn peace by keeping the law perfectly, sin takes occasion to stir up even more struggle within us.
There is good news that is greater than that struggle. In the old system the blood of bulls and goats could only cover sin for a time, it could never put it away. It took the blood of Jesus Christ to put sin away completely. Through His death He bore your sin and its punishment so that you can have full forgiveness. Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. That grace reigns through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And if you do fall, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who stands for you.
Forgiveness is only the beginning. God also provides power over the sin principle that wants to control your life. Scripture says sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. That does not mean you will never sin, but it means sin no longer has to rule you. You have been given glorious freedom from the tyranny of the flesh. The way to walk in that freedom is by faith, reckoning your old nature to have been crucified with Christ. When you see Christ on the cross you see forgiveness for your sins, when you see yourself there with Him you see power over the power of sin. The body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness when Christ is in you. As you yield your body to God as an instrument for Him to use to bring His love and peace into this world, He works that new life in you.
God also wants to give you the peace you are longing for. He promises to keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him, because that person trusts in Him. Jesus said to His disciples, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives. There is peace with God when you are no longer at war with Him and running from Him, and there is the peace of God that guards your heart even in storms. The Father who has perfect peace in every storm wants you to represent Him by living in that peace, keeping your eyes on Him rather than on the torment around you.
You mentioned that this struggle has been lifelong and now you see it in your children. Scripture teaches that through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and that we were born with a nature bent toward sin. That explains why the battle feels so deep and so familiar, but it does not leave you without hope. The same passage that shows how sin reigned unto death shows how grace can reign through Jesus to bring life. God is able to break patterns in you and to work in your family as you trust Him.
You do not have to break these habits by trying harder under the weight of the law. Bring your tiredness to Jesus, ask for His forgiveness, and then by faith count yourself dead to sin and alive to God, and keep your mind stayed on Him through His Word and prayer. When temptation comes, turn quickly to Him and yield yourself to Him again.
I am praying for you now. Father, I lift this dear one to You who is weary and drained and tormented daily with no peace. Thank You that the blood of Jesus puts away sin and that grace overflows where sin has abounded. Forgive and cleanse, and break the power of habitual sin. Let sin no longer have dominion, for this life is under grace. Help to reckon the old nature crucified with Christ and to live by Your Spirit. Keep this mind in perfect peace as it is stayed on You, and give Your peace that the world cannot give. Bring rest mentally and physically, and bring freedom that overflows to the children as well. Make this body Your instrument for Your love and peace. In Jesus name, Amen.
Part of what makes this so exhausting is trying hard in your own strength and finding obstacles at every turn. The Bible describes sin as missing the mark, failing to be what God wants us to be. You can be sincerely trying to hit the mark and still miss, and that missing still needs forgiveness. The law shows us what sin is, it reveals the target we miss, but it does not give us the power to hit it. In fact, when we live as if we must earn peace by keeping the law perfectly, sin takes occasion to stir up even more struggle within us.
There is good news that is greater than that struggle. In the old system the blood of bulls and goats could only cover sin for a time, it could never put it away. It took the blood of Jesus Christ to put sin away completely. Through His death He bore your sin and its punishment so that you can have full forgiveness. Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. That grace reigns through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And if you do fall, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who stands for you.
Forgiveness is only the beginning. God also provides power over the sin principle that wants to control your life. Scripture says sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. That does not mean you will never sin, but it means sin no longer has to rule you. You have been given glorious freedom from the tyranny of the flesh. The way to walk in that freedom is by faith, reckoning your old nature to have been crucified with Christ. When you see Christ on the cross you see forgiveness for your sins, when you see yourself there with Him you see power over the power of sin. The body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness when Christ is in you. As you yield your body to God as an instrument for Him to use to bring His love and peace into this world, He works that new life in you.
God also wants to give you the peace you are longing for. He promises to keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him, because that person trusts in Him. Jesus said to His disciples, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives. There is peace with God when you are no longer at war with Him and running from Him, and there is the peace of God that guards your heart even in storms. The Father who has perfect peace in every storm wants you to represent Him by living in that peace, keeping your eyes on Him rather than on the torment around you.
You mentioned that this struggle has been lifelong and now you see it in your children. Scripture teaches that through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and that we were born with a nature bent toward sin. That explains why the battle feels so deep and so familiar, but it does not leave you without hope. The same passage that shows how sin reigned unto death shows how grace can reign through Jesus to bring life. God is able to break patterns in you and to work in your family as you trust Him.
You do not have to break these habits by trying harder under the weight of the law. Bring your tiredness to Jesus, ask for His forgiveness, and then by faith count yourself dead to sin and alive to God, and keep your mind stayed on Him through His Word and prayer. When temptation comes, turn quickly to Him and yield yourself to Him again.
I am praying for you now. Father, I lift this dear one to You who is weary and drained and tormented daily with no peace. Thank You that the blood of Jesus puts away sin and that grace overflows where sin has abounded. Forgive and cleanse, and break the power of habitual sin. Let sin no longer have dominion, for this life is under grace. Help to reckon the old nature crucified with Christ and to live by Your Spirit. Keep this mind in perfect peace as it is stayed on You, and give Your peace that the world cannot give. Bring rest mentally and physically, and bring freedom that overflows to the children as well. Make this body Your instrument for Your love and peace. In Jesus name, Amen.
