Where to Begin
Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
But not the wicked!
They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
-Psalm 1, NLT
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. -Philippians 1:9-11, NIV (emphasis mine)
Once we have a firm grip on these twin realities:
that our God is redemptively at work in our lives (A New Thing?)
and
that His Spirit lives in us to transform us to be more like Jesus (A New Start);
then we have hope for a changed life.
What remains to be worked out is where to begin. Or more plainly stated, where to begin again. We all sin and we all fall short of the calling and ultimate design that God has for us in Jesus Christ, to be pure and blameless. Our imperfections are many and so, it is often confusing to know where to begin in growing to be more like Jesus. My humble suggestion is that you begin with the biggest sin issue in your life. In a time not that long ago, this was described as your ‘besetting sin’. (see Hebrews 12:1) By this I mean, that sin issue that keeps coming back and sabotaging your attempts at being pure and blameless in the way of Jesus. Often, these sins are not exotic and some even feel, well almost impossible to avoid. It could be gossip, it could be gluttony, it could be pornography, it could be pride, it could be anxiety; any of these sins could be persistent and problematic for you. And, because you can identify it as a problem, maybe even the problem, it is a good place to begin.
Once you’ve identified it, you must begin with repentance. Genuinely ask God to forgive you for breaking His law and His heart. You may also need to ask other’s forgiveness if the sin issue you’ve identified is also against someone (e.g- the person you’ve gossiped about, or lied to…). Seek reconciliation with God and others who’ve been wronged. Know that reconciliation with God is always possible because, God hears us when we confess our sins, forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Realize though reconciliation with others involves their willing participation and that may not be possible. Next, you may very well need to confess your sin to someone else so that, they can help you grow in Christ relative to a specific sin issue (see James 5:16). So, if I am a gossip, I need to confess to God (and maybe to those I’ve harmed) and seek their forgiveness. Then, I need to seek the help and wisdom of another believer who can help me grow and pray with me for God’s healing. Often, there is some underlying issue that is making this particular sin so troubling. Maybe it’s the way it makes you feel about you. Maybe it’s the way it gives you power or control. Maybe it’s attached to a lie that you believe about yourself or others. What you need is help in understanding what the underlying issue is. Here too the help of the Holy Spirit is invaluable. He wants you to grow to be more like Jesus. He doesn’t want you to remain captive. He knows all things and so, listening for His voice relative to a sin that you can’t seem to get free of is vital. Whatever comes up in this investigative phase, more prayer will follow. Maybe it’s an identity issue. Maybe it’s a control issue. Whatever the case, you must now take God’s truth and apply it to the matter at hand.
Say I struggle with anxiety. Anxiety is often tied to my desire to control everything so I can keep bad things from happening. The lie here is that I have control over everything. Once I see the lie I can replace that lie with God’s truth. So, I might pray something like this, “God, forgive me for being anxious. I know this is not what you have for me in Christ Jesus. I confess that I am not in control. I confess that You, my loving Heavenly Father are in control. Help me to let go of anxiety and a desire to control _____ (you can be very specific here- what are you anxious about?). Grow a deeper sense of Your love and care in my soul. Replace my anxiety with Jesus’ perfect peace. For the sake of Jesus, Amen.” Now, the prayer will change depending on the sin issue- but, the basic outline is this: (1)we ask for forgiveness, (2)we confess the lie we’ve believed, (3)we ask God to replace the lie with His truth, (4) we ask God to help us move forward in obedience based on His truth.
The lie that the Enemy of your soul has for you at this point will be, “This will never work; you are who you are and you can’t change.” And the reason that’s so convincing is because, it is half true. On your own you can’t change. But, you aren’t on your own. You not only have a family of faith into which you were supernaturally born, you have, God the Holy Spirit in residence in your soul, ready to empower your obedience, ready to transform you into the image of Christ. Whatever the case, begin and once begun, don’t stop.
Questions for life application and further discussion:
· Who might be able to help you identify your besetting sin?
· What Scripture might you memorize to combat the lie that you cannot change?
· What Scripture might you memorize to replace the lie you are currently believing (that which keeps the sin coming back)?
· Who will you ask to pray with and journey with you toward freedom and holiness relative to your besetting sin?