Have you ever felt like an octopus? Needing eight arms and then deciding which one to use on the most pressing need? So is the natural man resisting our spiritual nature. Who wins? Who loses? It’s our decision. At times we do not know which way to go. No matter what we decide, there is a loser. We are like the rope in a tug of war, pulled in different directions.
Since the day of our salvation, we became a soldier in a war. Every day there is a battle, our old nature battles with our new nature. The one with the most ammo usually wins. But, even with less ammo, the new self can win by applying God’s strategies. Put God first. Decide to load up with the word of God first. You can then shoot straight and hit the target.
The apostle Paul struggled with his two natures. He did things he did not want to do and failed to accomplish the things he should have done. He is an example of never quitting. Discouragements abounded in his life. Paul experienced prison, whipped five times, stoned, shipwrecked, robbed, the Jews and the Gentiles didn’t like him. Besides working as a tentmaker, he was hungry and cold at times, yet he never quit or gave up (II Corinthians 11:23-27). He kept going. He remembered he would stand before the Lord one day and give an account of his life. Notice Paul did not mention his horrible past of torturing Christians. He recognized those were forgiven sins.
Why do I mention the apostle’s life before salvation? To remind us that our sins are forgotten. Never to be remembered by God. Too many Christians today allow their past life to haunt and hinder their present life. Their preoccupation of the past forgiven life stops many Christians from being what God wants them to be today. Remember, Moses was a murderer, so was David. David added adultery to his list of sins. Paul tortured Christians, and Rahab was a harlot. Some of these sins were before they met the Lord, and some were after. John Mark even left his mission field. But God—our Lord, still used each one of these in his service..
If God can do this yesterday, what can he do today through you? You will never know unless you lay aside the past and trust him for the future.
