Sometimes I get depressed with myself. Every time I look at myself, my heart sinks with disappointment. I’m not what I want to be; I’m not what I thought I would be and I’m not what I should be. That’s a rather depressing opener. You say: “If it’s that bad, give up while you’re ahead. Pack it in. Call it quits. It can only get worse.” That’s where your thinking is wrong. Am I destined only to get worse? A resounding NO! If you’re fed up with yourself as a failing Christian, you need to know that your lapses and failures will come to an end.
There are three phases of a Christian’s life: what we were; what we are and what we shall be. Never forget what we once were before Christ entered our lives. Nor should we be under any illusions about what we are presently. But what about our future? Here’s the great news:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not,
because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be:
but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
(1John 3:1-3)
If you’re genuinely saved, your life has changed. No change – no life. It’s impossible for you to have the Spirit of God living inside you without anything changing. If your desires are no different than they were before you ‘thought’ you were saved, then you better go back to the drawing board. A real believer has desires and impulses they never had in their unconverted days. “Lord, I love Thee so much. Thanks for shedding Your precious blood for my sins. I want to live for You and do things that please Thee.” That’s the change. That’s one reality.
The other reality is – as much as we would like to please Him, sometimes we don’t. There’s a dark energy inside us that wants to please ourselves. We know we should not do it but we end up giving-in to that inner urge. We know we shouldn’t have talked that way but in the heat of the moment we did. We know we should have quickly turned our eyes away from it but something inside prompted us to look longer. We know we should have said “No!” but in our desire to fit-in, we said: “Yes!”
Why do we have conflicting feelings inside – one impulse yanking us in one direction and another voice encouraging us to do what is right? The Bible identifies the conflict as the struggle between our wicked, sinful ‘flesh’ and the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-26; Romans 7:14-25; Romans 8)
Dear child of God, a clearer focus on our future with Christ and what we shall be, will help us to live for Him now. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be….” When you sin, confess it quickly to the Lord and spend time alone with Christ thinking about His sinlessness and all the examples of His Holy life left for us in the four Gospels. The process of studying and enjoying Christ NOW actually makes us more Christ-like in our thinking and behaviour each day.
But when we are with Him and see Him as He is, an instant change will take place. We will become morally like Him. No more conflict inside. No more tugging towards sin. Never another thought to be squashed in our minds. The days of messing up and feeling guilty will be over forever. We will never disappoint our Lord again. Every single thing we do will be pleasing to Him. What a day that will be!
“Lord, help me make it through today with this happy hope before me. Preserve me today from disappointing and grieving Thee. I am looking forward to that first glimpse of the One who died for me. Then I will be fully changed to bring Thee uninterrupted pleasure forever.”