“The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new affection.” Thomas Chalmers
The only way we can stop the vicious cycle of sin, that we can’t seem to say no to, is to say yes to God. Yes, to loving God more.
The Law points out our sin and our need for a Savior. But it doesn’t make us want to stop sinning. It’s when I decide to go on a diet, that I want to eat what I’m not supposed to eat. Having something forbidden makes us want it more. So if the Law doesn’t help us not sin, what does? Love. It’s love that causes a lover to want to stop sinning.
When we love God more, we desire to sin less. Jesus, the Lover of our Soul, fills our hearts with whatever it is we need or long for. If it’s comfort, security, or self worth that causes us to run to our addictive idols, we won’t need to sin when Jesus meets those desires within our soul. And we will do anything for the One we love. When we’re in love, we want to please the one we love. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15) When I sin, I fear grieving the heart of the One I love, more than I fear punishment.
For numerous years I struggled with a low self esteem. I felt I needed to do something grand and receive man’s approval in order to feel okay about myself. A lack of self worth drives us to seek after status, fame, and power at work or ministry. But if we have quenched our thirst for those things through our relationship with God, if we’ve come to like and accept ourselves because we truly understand in our hearts how much God likes and accepts us, then sin’s pull, fades away. The need is no longer there.
It’s an intimate relationship with the Lover of our soul that keeps us from the destruction of sin. When we cherish God more than we cherish our idols, sin becomes a lesser issue. When God consumes us instead of our other lovers, then sin no longer consumes us.
Make knowing God a life pursuit. when we understand God’s character and experience His nature in our every day life, then we can’t help but fall more in love with Him and fall out of love with sin.
When thou attackest the roots of sin, fix thy thought more upon the God whom thou desirest than upon the sin which thou abhorrest.”
Walter Hilton
Relevant Reflections: 1. In what areas do you struggle with sin? List the idols that draw you away from God. 2. Ask God to cause you to fall more madly in love with Him.
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