What’s your weakness? Something you really struggle with?
I’ve got a lot of stuff that gets in the way of my walk sometimes. Pride, jealousy, failures (I beat myself up a lot about those), and just basic low self-esteem which I talk about often.
But one of the keys to living an abundant life is recognizing that you’re not perfect, and that regardless of your failures you still are loved and cherished by your Heavenly Father. Remember the Apostle Paul and his failures I wrote about in Getting Upset At Dumb Stuff?
There’s one gal I was trying to mentor for awhile that was an alcoholic, but she refused to admit it. She shared with me one day that alcoholism ran in her family, but she knew “she wasn’t one.” Yet then I’d get an “SOS” text from her stating that she’d started drinking the previous night and “couldn’t stop – please pray for me!”
Oh, denial – we don’t want to admit our struggles sometimes, do we?
One time in particular, after receiving from her another SOS note, felt led to respond by quoting 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT):
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
I then told her she needed to stay away from the bars and cocktail lounges, even when friends of hers were going.
She said she realized that, but right now her problem was also overboard drinking at home. She was blaming Satan – but again the Lord gave me Scripture, this time from James 4:7 (NIV):
Submit yourselves … to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Since this gal was a fairly new Christian, I explained to her that even Jesus, the Son of God, also had to resist temptation from the devil while He was in the wilderness after His public ministry started (Matthew 4:1-11). And how did Jesus do that? He quoted Scripture!
I told her how important it was to read God’s Word and memorize Bible verses. Because on our own, we are weak and helpless (2 Corinthians 12:9), but with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27).
So, what’s your weakness? Let’s say its feeling like a failure. What are you going to do about it? The principles above can be used in whatever you’re dealing with. If you’ve trusted in Jesus as your Savior, you are not a failure and never will be! So flee – run away from the thoughts encircling your mind. Don’t let the devil get a foothold (Ephesians 4:27)! Instead put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17) and stand strong. The enemy doesn’t want you to live a victorious life – he wants to have you running scared and feeling unworthy (1 Peter 5:8) instead.
I’ve thrown a lot of Scripture at you today, but my prayer is that you will realize that temptation is everywhere, and we all need to be alert and realize what causes us to struggle. And, when we find ourselves starting to fall into a place where we know we shouldn’t be, we need to stand strong, give it to God and use the power He has given us.
God loves you so dearly, my friends. Remember you need never be afraid, and there is always a way back. Just like the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, Jesus is waiting for you, and as you run to Him, He will open His arms in love.
The God Of All Comfort 