If you’re stuck in sin you might be thinking:
-- Where do I even begin?
-- My sin seems so overwhelming.
-- I don’t know if I could ever get out.
If that’s you, take courage. Obedience happens one step at a time. Here are some steps for walking a path of obedience:
-- Confess your sin to the Lord right now. Stop what you are doing, and get on your knees. Ask Him for His forgiveness and His mercy (Psalm 139:23-24).
-- Ask Him to help you fight your sin. Know that He will do it! He delights in you, and He wants to bring you into closer fellowship with Him. The Lord loves when we are broken in our sin and want nothing more than to obey Him (Psalm 51:7; 2 Samuel 22:7, 20).
-- Confess your sin to another person. This step is a hard one, but it is necessary. This is how it no longer becomes hidden. We confess it to the Lord, and then we confess it to someone else who will hold us accountable and encourage us as we fight temptation (James 5:16). I would encourage you to confess to your parents.
-- Make active steps to walk away from your sin. Leave an unhealthy relationship. Give up books, TV shows, or movies that cause your mind to wander. Take time with the Lord, and ask Him how He desires for you to walk in obedience to Him. He will lead you. It is your task to follow Him.
Following will not be easy, sweet sister. Your heart will protest, and it may be painful. Remember, the Lord disciplines the one He loves (Hebrews 12:6). He wants the very best for you. Refinement from hidden and repeated sin is difficult, but He will never leave you in the middle of the fight for righteousness. In fact, He will fight for you (Exodus 14:14).
-- Take the next few weeks to replenish your heart with things of the Lord.Take walks outside and talk to Him. Sit in your room and put on worship songs. Journal about how He has been faithful to you. Engage with other girls who love Him and want to see you love Him more! Most importantly, fill your mind with Scripture and ask the Lord to allow a love for His Word to overwhelm you.
An important truth to remember is that sheer willpower will never be enough to keep us away from our sin. We cannot simply say, “I am going to be really strong and avoid temptation from now on.” We don’t have the power to resist sin within ourselves. That’s why we need Jesus so much. We will face temptation for the rest of our lives. We will always be faced with the decision to choose sin over Christ. It is an opportunity to say to the Lord, “I love you more!”
Once you decide to begin walking down a path of obedience, temptation will still remain. In fact, it could grow stronger. The enemy of your soul does not want you to realize that you are no longer under a “spirit of slavery” (Romans 8:15). He will try even harder to discourage you and pull you away from sweeter and truer intimacy with Jesus. Even after I decided to confess my sin and choose Jesus over my temptation, I failed again. It left me feeling even more defeated. How could Jesus love such a mess?
He gently reminded me through that season that I need Him every second. That His love for me is not dependent on how many successes I have in obeying Him. I can call out to Him, and He will rescue me. He will provide a way of escape in the midst of every treacherous lure Satan sends my way. In fact, Jesus will use temptation to build me into a woman of faith who knows that her Savior will come to her aid when the enemy strikes.
When we see Jesus as infinitely more worthy than the temptations that so easily swayed us before, nothing will be able to compare to the love we share with our Savior. Every time Satan tries to trick us with old sins and past mistakes, we will shake our heads, and say Jesus is worth so much more.
Jesus rewards obedience. The life surrendered to Christ is not easy, but it is beyond worth it.
So how can you begin on the path to obedience today? What hidden sin needs to be thrust out into the light and given over to Jesus?
Jesus has been faithful to you before, and He will be faithful now! Write a comment below about how you can trust Him to be faithful as you begin to walk in obedience to Him.
By Miranda Boyce
