Access the Power
Legs were kicking, arms were pumping, and water was flying. I turned to the center of the swimming pool from where I was holding onto the pool wall. My sister and aunt also turned to the commotion and the sound of panicked gasps filtered to our ears. We quickly noticed the commotion was being caused by someone who had accidently ventured too far and couldn’t reach the bottom of the pool. They frantically tried to swim and reach safety to no avail. My aunt pushed off the wall and reached the boy in a few strokes. As she reached him, he reached for her. Getting a hold of each other, they both went under. Now both were having trouble. The boy was trying to help his rescuer and the result was mayhem. Both were now struggling not to drown. The lifeguard threw out a flotation device and then hastily resorted to jumping in the pool and grabbing the boy with trained skill. My aunt was easily able to take care of herself once the boy had let go.
Do you ever look at an older Christian and wonder how they seem to live in constant victory? Our lives seem to be a roller coaster of victory and defeat. We seem to live in constant defeat surprised by victory instead of constant victory surprised by defeat. We see others living in victory over sin and we try to achieve it also. We try hard to have victory, but then fail. We try harder, but fail again. We think if we grit our teeth and plant our feet we will succeed, but we still fail.
The thing is, when it comes to overcoming sin, it’s not about trying harder. God does not need our help, in helping Him help us. Let Him do it. Let go and let God. Let’s stop trying and start trusting.
This doesn’t mean we are to be passive. We are to be active in praising God and focusing on Him. When we focus on not sinning, we are drawn to that sin. When we are focused on God, we are drawn to Him.
We cannot overcome sin by our own strength. We are not strong enough. Thankfully, we are given a greater power that has overcome sin. This power is the power of our resurrected Saviour. It is available to us by the Holy Ghost. We will look at this in detail next time. For now, realize your inability and recognize that Christ is the ability.