"Don't Give In!"

 

“Don’t Give In!”

 

This past September Karen had a third corrective toe surgery. She used crutches for a couple of days then graduated to a post-surgical boot for five weeks. As I write this in mid-November she’s back to driving, standing with the church choir and other normal activities. We thank God for seeing her through this procedure.

During her recovery period she had to consciously walk upright and not give in to the natural tendency to compensate by stooping over. “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” (to borrow a song title by Irving Berlin from the musical “Annie Get Your Gun”) can be comfortable in circumstances like Karen’s but it’d lead to bad walking habits in the future.

We have an inner battle between “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” and what God desires of us. The Apostle Paul describes his struggle of his old nature vs. his new in Romans 6:11: “…Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” But then he shares his heart and frustration: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing…What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:15,19,24-25, emphasis added). He realized that in himself he couldn’t avoid “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly” but in Jesus he could win the victory (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”—Philippians 4:13, NKJV, emphasis added).

Every time God gives a command He’s telling us to act contrary to our human nature. For example, our tendency is to fear—circumstances, people, the future, you name it—but God in His Word says “Fear not” 365 times. (A devotional Karen read recently observed, “Fear is faith going in the wrong direction.”) Our archenemy will never give up on us—we must never give in to him. And never forget God’s promise: “…Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NLT). Amen!

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan