Breaking the Terrible Cycle

Day and night they never stopped singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, the all-powerful God, who was and is and is coming!”

Revelation 4:8b (CEV)

What is that one thing you did that you would take back a thousand times if you could? That bad habit you find hard to quit and you think you would die if anyone found out? That action you just keep returning to no matter how hard you try not to?

Sin, and its companion shame, hold choking grips on all of us. We want to do what’s right, but we keep messing up. And then we feel guilty. And then we do it all over again, like a terrible cycle. To go to God—the one the angels constantly say is “holy, holy, holy”—just seems like it doesn’t fit.

When Jesus came to earth, he was fully God yet also a human being. People around him were drawn to his love and realized they should stop sinning. They were drawn to his holiness.

When we admit our sins and let Jesus into our lives, he forgives us and makes us holy. Then he begins to work on our hearts, making us want to not sin anymore. He gives us the strength to resist.

The only way to break from the terrible cycle you may be in is by clinging to Jesus. You may still have to face some consequences, but his forgiveness frees you from punishment as well as any guilt. You can find freedom and holiness in him!

SPIRITUAL FITNESS TRAINING

Holiness may seem like a foreign concept to many people. Take time to think about it this week as you reflect on this devotional. Answer these questions, and ask a friend and a mentor what their answers are:

• What is holiness?
• What does holiness mean to you?
• When you think of God’s holiness, what images come to mind?
• Have you seen holiness portrayed in any movie?
• Do you want to be more holy? Why or why not?

INSPIRATION

“If you don’t delight in the fact that your Father is holy, holy, holy, then you are spiritually dead. You may be in a church. You may go to a Christian school. But if there is no delight in your soul for the holiness of God, you don’t know God.”

—R.C. Sproul, American pastor and theologian

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help you expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

Leviticus 20:26

Psalm 51:10–11

2 Timothy 1:9

Hebrews 12:10