12/19/2023
As we move towards a godly state of righteousness we shed one sin after another until at last we are down to our pet sins... those we consider insignificant, and that give us personal pleasure, or reduce the pain of life. When we reach this point, and we refuse to let these hidden sins go, then our relationship with God stalls, and we feel a growing separation from Him. This can happen early on in our walk, but usually it occurs once all of the low hanging sinful fruit has been plucked from us. These deeply imbedded sins that we pray over time and time again will require spiritual surgery to extract them.
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13 ESV
Are we having a hard time touching God with our prayers? Do we pray only to find an empty feeling, and conclude by wondering if God has heard us at all? If this is so, then it is time to look not at God, but inward into ourselves. Upon introspection we will find something in us that is standing between the Lord, and us... a sin we cherish more than the Peace of Christ, and our heavenly relationship; a sin that needs to be severed from us before you can reinvigorate your conversation, and walk with God.
“"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Matthew 10:34 ESV
Oswald Chambers wrote of this place in our relationship. He too reached that point of desperation... the travail in our journey at which we become stalled, and stand staring at a gaping chasm of sin between us and the road ahead. He speaks of those treasured sins that hold more value to us than the next step in our journey of faith. Do we find ourselves in a place such as this?
“If a man cannot get through to God it is because there is a secret thing he does not intend to give up - I will admit I have done wrong, but I no more intend to give up that thing than fly.” - Oswald Chambers
Standing at the precipice of sin, we can no longer stay abreast of the Peace of Christ that has been our companion. Christ’s Peace crosses the divide easily, while we stop and hold tight to our favored sin which is just too pleasurable, or valuable, to let go of. It is like a sore on an apple, and if not cut out it will rot the entire fruit. We are at a point of decision... will we let it go, or do we give up on the journey altogether. Are we just too content where we are at to continue on with Jesus? List to what Chambers writes regarding this…
“Thousands of people are happy without God in this world. If I was happy and moral till Jesus came, why did He come? Because that kind of happiness and peace is on a wrong level; Jesus Christ came to send a sword through every peace that is not based on a personal relationship to Himself.” - Oswald Chambers
Holding onto a sin, no matter how small we think it is, isn’t a minor event; it is the abandonment of our desire to be completely one with God. Sin that isn’t surrendered becomes a cancer that kills our stride, and cripples our ability to walk on with Jesus. This realization comes to all of us who follow Jesus, and it happens more than once as we discover each of these precious sins that encumber us, and must be painfully extracted. These are the showstoppers that can come when we feel we are mere steps from the finish line. They come when we conclude that we can’t take another step. It comes in the moment of spiritual heartbreak when we realize that our magnificent goal of eternal life has fallen victim to our inability to relinquish our lives totally to God.
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."”
Joshua 24:15 ESV
So, let go of those personal sins that you guard and hold dear within yourself. Abandon anything that keeps you from Jesus, and walk on with Him as He soothes your loss by lavishing His Peace upon you. It might have been easy to rest in the unrighteous peace of the world, but the Peace of Christ is so much richer and more satisfying. Can you let go of these tempting sins to have the greater peace? Can you restore yourself to God’s presence in your prayer closet by letting go of those hidden sins that you have cherished for so long?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the strength you give me as I walk with Jesus Christ towards your heavenly kingdom. I thank you for pointing out the secret sins in me that I have hidden deep inside, but which keep me from you. I look to you for help Father when my hands must be pried from sins that I am holding tight to, and that I am reluctant to release. You encourage me Abba, and call out to me; you beckon me to step across the chasm of my pet transgressions to rejoin Jesus and to journey on with Him towards you in righteousness and holiness. I pray Father that the vision of you never grows dim, and that I never tarry in a sinfulness that muffles the sound of your voice. Hear my cries Lord, forgive me as I let go of those terrible hidden sins that have controlled me for so long, and that I lay down in contrition before you. Give me your Peace as a sweet salve to heal the wounds left by the sword of Christ. Make a place for me at your table, and let me taste the joy in your grace forevermore.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
James 4:7-8 ESV
Rich Forbes