daniel fast pt. 2

This morning as I was driving to work, I realized something. I was shopping last night for the food I needed to get through the rest of the fast, and I found myself drawn to stare down foods like mac n' cheese, donuts, and all things chocolate. I did not do anything but maybe slightly drool...haha. But the truth is that I wouldn't be drawn to those things if I had never tasted them before. Because I had, I knew what I was missing out on. And they sat there on the shelves of the store, taunting me. "Eat me," they laughed and said...but I refused to give in.

It's just like sin. Paul talks about how the law brought us awareness of our sin, and how that very awareness entices us all the more. Plus, most sin is fun or comforting...or we wouldn't desire to do it.

"But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me." Romans 7:8-11

The good news is that while we have this internal struggle over sin, we also have the Lord Jesus Christ living within us to help us fight that battle. He is transforming our very nature. While we may still have a desire for sin, we also have something within us that wants it as far away from us as possible. And through Christ, we have victory. Just like I was able to walk away from the trance that the mac n' cheese threatened to keep me in, we can begin to walk away from our sin. There is hope for your struggle. Whatever it may be, bring it to Jesus. He can and will give you the strength you need to walk away.