Nothing I’m saying here is original.
Even so, it’s something most of us need to hear.
Fighting against sin is challenging – maybe even glorious. It can be difficult to reign in our animal instincts like lust and anger. It can be just as hard to overcome sins of the mind, like envy or vanity.
But that just makes the rewards even sweeter.
When you channel your energies into virtues and not indulgences, it’s like pumping fuel straight into your soul.
You might even feel good about yourself.
You might look around the world and smirk at how other people still struggle with –
Bam.
Just like that, you’re indulging in pride.
Pride is a sneaky sin. Do well at overcoming the others and it’s a natural response. If you embrace humility, you then have to guard against feeling proud about that.
It might be Satan’s favourite sin – one he indulges in often and is a reliable snare even for righteous men.
But how do you motivate yourself then?
If you can’t feel good about your accomplishments, then how do you stick with them? How do you avoid backsliding into some cheap and easy thrill?
As always, the answer is in the Bible.
Surrender yourself to God.
Surrender yourself to Jesus Christ.
Place all your cares and struggles into His holy hands. Trust him to carry you through your challenges.
It takes all the pressure off you, since you have the greatest being in creation on your side.
It gives you the confidence that you can do this.
And if you succeed… well, did you succeed? Or was that just divine glory working through you?
It’s hard to feel pride about an achievement you had nothing to do with.
Now, here’s the way divine glory is working through me to work through you, bringing a solution to something you struggle with, at least sometimes.
You’ll surrender to God better when you remember Your Story Isn’t About You.
Read, reread and apply it here: