Wednesday April 26, 2017

 

Life is not perfect; the truth is that we are living in an imperfect world. Our lives are a mixture of some good and some bad. At times there is more good than bad and at other times it seems like there is more bad than good. One of the main reasons for life’s imperfections is that as individuals, we are not perfect. Furthermore and quite frankly, neither are we always consistent. We say that we know what we should do and not do and although we are committed to doing what is right, we are not consistent at it and every now and then we relapse and fall back into some bad habits.

 

Four Reasons Why We Relapse:

 

1. Because we revert back to willpower.

 

We all have hurts, bad habits, and hang-ups that we have not been able to overcome. For some it is their past, for others it is behavioral, and there are others who have to contend with bad habits and addictions. Our tendency then is to lean into God; we trust Him and ask Him to lead us out of our defects, and in no time we begin to experience God’s miracle-working power in our lives. Suddenly, we feel as though we are in control of our lives and we feel like our past hurts, present hang-ups, and our bad habits no longer control us. We begin to feel strong and in control and over time we stop leaning into God and revert back to willpower. We lean into the same willpower that was insufficient to heal us and set us free in the first place.

 

How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? – Galatians 3:3 NLT

 

It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. – Zachariah 4:6 NLT

 

2. Because you skip steps.

 

This is similar to the person who goes to the doctor with a weak heart and the doctor prescribes a regimen of healthy eating, exercise, and rest. Within a few weeks that person’s heart becomes stronger and stronger. The person, feeling stronger, decides to skip the healthy eating and exercise, they skip resting and before they know it, their heart becomes weak again and sometimes ends up in worse shape. As followers of Jesus, we need to learn and follow all the steps. As Christians, when we reach the last step it means that we need to go back and repeat all the steps again.

 You were doing well. Who stopped you from obeying the truth?

– Galatians 5:7 NLV

 

3. Because you try to recover on your own.

 

You are never strong enough to conquer on your own. This is why the church is called the Body of Christ, because all of the members of the body are necessary.

 

Two are better than one, because they have good pay for their work. For if one of them falls, the other can help him up. But it is hard for the one who falls when there is no one to lift him up.

– Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLV

 

4. Because you become confident, and full of pride.

 

A little bit of success and all of a sudden we are experts and know it all’s! Now we have become mentors and go around giving advice to anyone and everyone, now we look at others and even criticize them; we are full of pride. Then, suddenly and without warning, we relapse back into our bad and destructive behavior.

 

Pride comes before being destroyed and a proud spirit comes before a fall.

– Proverbs 16:18 NLV

 

 “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” – Mark 14:38 NLT

 

 

 

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