YOU CAN'T DO IT ALONE
| As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they
pressed into service to bear His cross. Matthew 27:32 (NASB) Our Lord Jesus was unable to carry His cross alone. David Wilkerson, in his book, "Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately?" states that when the Lord asked us to pick up the cross and follow Him, He did not expect us to do it on our own strength. Joyce Meyers reaffirmed that this morning on her daily telecast by saying that we cannot walk away from our sins alone. We are unable to conquer our sins, especially what David Wilkerson calls our "besetting sins" (those sins that we continually, even habitually do) by ourselves. We need Jesus. That is grace. That is mercy. That is also a big relief to me. I have been tormenting myself about a besetting sin, fretting that I would not be able to do the right thing the next time the same situation arose. I asked the Lord and myself why I was such a failure at crucifying the flesh. I wondered how other people did it and why I couldn't. I've been a Christian for 16 years, surely I'm capable of taking up the cross and crucifying the flesh. Yet, when the situation arose just recently, I fell. Now I was beginning to wonder why I continually fell and was far too anxious about the future. I cried out like Paul, "Why do I do that which I don't want to do and don't do what I want to do?" You see, I had taken my burdens and my sin to the cross but I didn't leave it there. I wore it around like a monkey on my back and I didn't believe the gospel. I didn't believe that not only was I forgiven but that I could truly give it to the Lord and forget about it. I asked Him to help me to conquer this besetting sin the next time but I forgot that "His strength was made perfect in my weakness." The Lord was going to help me get through it the next time and the next. I accepted that I would not reach perfection until I obtained my glorified body in heaven.
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