So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. Romans 7:21
Oh, how true! I gear myself up to start eating right and lose weight. I am all gung-ho, have prayed for strength and endurance. I know I must take better care of this temple called my body. By midday, I am craving a chocolate bar, or worse, chocolate ice cream – even if I haven’t had it in weeks. I tell myself tomorrow I will start exercising, then wake up with a killer backache, or stumble and jam my toe, or my allergies are aflame. I promise I will spend a half hour every morning reading my Bible and praying over the Word, and the phone rings, the cat throws up, or the dishwasher floods. Really? Anything else want to happen? Do you ever feel this way?
Some people say such happenings fall under Murphy’s Law – “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” I think Paul hits the nail on the head. He says, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (v.15)
He takes responsibility for his actions, though he blames it on evil, which beckons to man’s innate sinful nature. The good news is that through the grace of God we can rise above sin and evil’s whisperings in our ear. Obstacles should be a sign that we are actually on the right path.
With Christ who gives us the strength we need, we can roll them out of the way, find a way around them, or crawl over them. His mercies are new every morning, so can be our determination. Chocolate ice cream watch out, temptations get out of the way! Let the phone ring – I have voice mail. Distractions vanish – God is at my side!
