Nobody Makes it Out Alive Week 6 Maintenance plan Day 3 Application

“For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7:18-25‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The struggle is real. Am I right about it, or what? We are messy people. No one is free from the temptation of sin until Jesus returns. Once we understand that the struggle is real for ourselves we can have empathy, without judgement, for others that struggle more publicly. Private or public sin is equal. Stop judging others for their struggle, even if it is repetitive. The Bible says judge not or you will be judged for you will be judged to the extent of the thing you are judging others for. (Matthew 7:2-6)

We basically have enough of our own sin to deal with. Much like seizing the day, we must focus on our own sin. How I hear it in my head, when I’m comparing my sinful nature, to someone else’s sinful nature, “Mind ya business, you got enough of your own sin to battle.”

Does that mean we do not pray for that person or direct them where we have experienced victory? Absolutely not. What it means is do not ever raise yourself above someone else thinking you have conquered sin and they have not. That is where pride comes before the fall, your fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

In order to apply what we are learning through studying God’s word and utilizing tools like this devotional, “Nobody Makes it Out Alive”, we must focus in on our own individual lives first. We have no business telling others how to live their lives. Once we gain victory over a sin in our own lives that will be the testimony that speaks to someone else struggling with the same sin. My gramps used to tell me that having 2 ears and 1 month is God’s proof to listen more and talk less. Wisdom without application is reduced to knowledge without power. Excessive knowledge without application becomes pride. A head full of knowledge, telling everyone else how to live, is not a testimony, it is annoying.

Start with you. End with God. Nothing can separate you from God but you. Run to the Father every, single, time you sin. He is not surprised and He is waiting for you. If we truly want to apply these principles, we must admit we are sinners. Each day is a new beginning. Compare yourself to God not others. That will keep you humble while you are living your best life for God.

Lord, help me wrap my head around what I need to be doing so that my life will live out loud the testimony of a life in Your hands. Have Your way with me, Lord so I can be shaped and molded and prepared for eternity. Help me be a testimony to others that are struggling. Let my victories be a testament of You and not me. I cannot conquer sin without Your strength. Amen

“Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:3-6‬ ‭CSB‬‬