My Promise to You JesusSample

Escape

“ … having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:4 (b) ESV

On the first day, we looked at God’s intentions through His promises to reform us into Christ-like people.
The promises become relevant to our needs at the time, and they give us wisdom from God to deal with them. But He has a deeper plan for us that requires us to trust Him in a deeper way. There are apparent needs that always get our attention first. Those apparent needs send us to God to find His encouragement and assurances. But what we do not see, and God does, are the unapparent needs that we have, the ones that may prove more important than the obvious. The mystery of it is how God has already prepared solutions and guidance for those rough times with the obvious and unobvious needs if we let His promises guide us. The process of our trials and His solutions ushers us into closer proximity with Jesus, and this creates a deeper level of His influence in our life.

The most unseen need for help that we have, and we live with daily, is found in our flesh nature. This nature lives and stands in direct opposition to the nature of Christ, who wants to lead us and bless us. It is a corruption that we were born with and has been finetuned by our own sinful desires that grow in us. We do not understand the negative impact this nature has on our lives and relationships until we see and experience the nature of Christ leading us. We never know how sick we’ve been until we become soul healthy.

Recently I had open heart surgery. They discovered two completely closed arteries and did a double bypass to correct them. It worked. When asked how I’m doing since I have the increased blood flow through my heart, I truthfully answered that I didn’t know how bad I was feeling until l I started to feel normal again. In a similar way. we don’t know how bad we feel being led by our flesh nature until we see the contrast of Christ’s nature bubbling to the surface of our life. We see the difference, and those closest to us see it. We feel it. We feel the loving embrace and assurance of the Lover of our Soul when we are right with Him.

The scripture above speaks of a “sinful desire.” One can have a smorgasbord of choices to use as an example of a sinful desire. The gamut ranges from sexual sin to materialism, envy to lust of all kinds, and pride to bitterness. I can list many more, for I know and see these things in my life trying to pull me toward them. But each of us has a special one. In Hebrews 12:1, we read:

“… let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

I read in this that there is a special sin that “clings so closely” to each of us. Perhaps you know the sin that could be the strongest lure to ensnare you. I know mine. I know that any vulnerability in that area for me could lead to a shipwreck, and I have to always be on alert. God wants His children to be aware of their weak areas and stand against them. He wants to fortify us and desensitize the allure of this sin and all sin that comes at us. Therefore, He is always at work nurturing us into the Christlikeness described in His promises. When we “partake of the divine nature,” we partake in His strengths, holiness, ways of dealing with tempting issues, and purpose. This is when the Spirit of Christ begins to displace the flesh spirit we have been born with.

Always remember that God has a plan for your life, and it is good. His promises lead us to this plan if we will trust them and follow them.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)