Today, about 10 in the morning, I developed this sudden urge, which began to increase the more I would dwell on it. It was the temptation to give-in to the very thing I have been vowing for some time to do in moderation: drink coffee. I found a small coffee stand which did not accept a Visa card, only cash (I didn’t have cash). The very rejection to accept my card, spiraled me into a relentless pursuit where I soon found myself willing to push through any obstacle to satisfy, what I now considered a necessary, unmet need.
The reason why I promised myself to lay off the coffee is because my doctor told me that it wasn’t good for my stomach, due to a currently dormant ulcer condition. He prescribed medication, which I take intermittently, but ought to take more regularly. He told me that coffee is o.k. to drink from time to time, but to refrain from drinking it before getting food in my stomach. Needless to say, as you might guess, I didn’t eat anything this morning. I had already predicted for certain, before I bought any coffee, that while I would enjoy immensely satisfying this undeniable craving, that hours later I would have the inevitable stomach pains.
Of course, after fulfilling this supposed need, I soon began to experience the all too familiar stomach pains, caused by my willful act of rebellion to the doctor’s admonition, and my sheer lack of self control. As the anticipated regret crept in, it began to be as equally prominent as the very drive I had to succumb to this fleshly compulsion.
While there is nothing sinful about drinking coffee, I became consciously aware of, what I would probably call a growing obsession to satisfy this craving-- no matter what. The thought immediately came to mind, and I believe by the power of the Holy Spirit, to ask myself a convicting question…
When was the last time you thirsted and hungered after righteousness as much as you are in your present quest to gratify this seemingly insatiable thirst?
The Lord may bring these things to the mind of the Christian, and while we should respond to the Lord’s obvious admonition in obedience, we may instead find ourselves in a place in our lives where we would willfully be determined to ignore His commands and pursue living as those in the world. Of course, if we are His, the regret of submitting to temptations in our lives will follow. Because the Christian is a new creation, belonging to the one who not only made him, but bought him by His precious blood, God has given the Christian His Spirit, which wars with the flesh.
As in the case where I chose to ignore my doctor’s instruction, we may sometimes find ourselves making conscious, willful decisions to ignore the light, and selfishly immerse ourselves in the darkness for the moment, where the Lord does not dwell. Whatever the sin, if we choose to spend enough time in it, our spirits may eventually become callous and our hearts hard to hearing the Lord’s call for our repentance.
Do you feel that you have been robbing yourself of the joy that you once had (or maybe never experienced)? Have you been flirting with a particular sin? Has it reached a point where it has become such an obsession that you continually give-in to it?
Christ is able to sift the dross out of your life and to make you whole. However great the sin you think it is, no matter how long you have been wrestling with it, you can rest all of it at the foot of the cross and Christ will deliver you!Ask for His grace and come to Him today. Your rightful place is in fellowship with Him.
"There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" - Romans 8:1
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" - 1 John 1:9
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