He's Still Working On Me

Posted by Traci at 10:05 PM

So occasionally (rarely in my mind but not in reality), my yucky sin nature will rear it’s ugly head.  Usually it’s a time when I’m really in the word or really faithfully praying and something crazy will happen and I’ll have a terrible reaction.  The "ten year old mad as fire at the strange neighbors who need to get out of my pool now!" reaction.  And it will set me back.  Make me think I’ve made no progress at all from that red faced ten year old who yelled at the poor neighbor kids.  (Nevermind that they might could have used a little grace in their lives, and that they would have been way better off if my much more full of grace brother had caught them.)  That I’m no closer to the image of Christ than I was when I started.  But I think that’s what the enemy wants me to think. (Yes – we have a very real and busy enemy.)  When I think that way I start to give up, to not press onward, to not persevere.  Which is of course what he wants.  Thinking about this recently when the devotional in my Bible for that day just happened (whatever, there is no just happened) to be this: 

“As long as men and women seek to gain their sense of significance and self-worth from anything other than God, they will be set up for temptation.  Certain people, places, or things will always have an inordinate ability to lure them into sin. Until they change their definition of significance and until they transfer their security to Someone who can give them real security, they will never experience lasting victory in the lives…

Making the switch from your present set of values to God’s involves two steps.  First of all, you  must identify the things and people from which you draw your identity. I call this step of the process reviewing your life…

A second step in making this switch involves renewing your mind to the truth. To renew your mind, you must remove the old ways of thinking and replace them with the truth…The truth is that all of your security and significance is wrapped up in your relationship with God through Jesus Christ.”

From Winning the War Within by Charles Stanley

So setbacks, especially those related to old and entrenched ways of reacting – are natural.  It doesn’t mean that I’m making no progress, but it does mean that I need to keep etching out those old ways and replacing them with His ways. His reactions.  His security.  But that’s hard to do when you’ve been reacting the same way since you were ten.  God I believe. Help my unbelief.