Understanding me

¹⁵For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want,

but I do the very thing I hate.
¹⁶Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
¹⁷So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells within me.

(Romans 7:15-20ESV)

This passage has been on my mind recently. I believe God puts it there when I begin to struggle in my daily life. It's not the first time it's been foremost in my mind! It just seems so fitting for my life... because I do not understand my own actions! Why is it that I know what needs to be done, what I should do, but I don't do it. These verses explain... I am a sinner. We all are. (Yes, even you!) But, we have been saved by God's grace. So, if I continue to do that which I know I should not, and do not do that which I should, it indicates to me that my heart has not been focused where it should -- on God alone. He is my strength. He will get me through the days that feel impossible. He will love me even when I fail miserably. He will pick me up when I fall. He will accept me with open arms when I turn back to Him. And the sin that dwells within me? Well, Satan would love for me to just give in to it each and every day. But, I have a choice! And I chose Jesus. Unlike Satan, Jesus desires what is best for me. He has a plan for my life. I just need to lean on Him and trust Him in all things.

And now, as I head off to salvage this day, I pray that I will keep these words in mind. May you also lean on Him today. Give Him all your problems, all your sins. He will take them. And then He will forget them.

Thank you, God, for loving me despite myself.