James 2:10 (NIV)
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
Ever had the word just stomp all over you? That happened to me this morning. Nothing else could have done that except the Holy Spirit through the word.
My Pastor had encouraged us this past weekend to turn loose of the sin in our lives. To do a 180 degree turn away from any sin we might be harboring. I thought I was good. I had already confessed everything I knew of… but that was the thing… was there something that I didn’t know about? So I asked The Holy Spirit to reveal to me anything else that might be hidden and that I might need to take care of. Sigh… you know that answer didn’t take long.
Here’s the catch… what do I do about it? Some might say “that’s just the way I am” and bulldoze through life like there is no significant impact to themselves or others because of their actions. I can be that person. But God calls us to be Holy. He calls us to be obedient. So when The Holy Spirit shows us something, we need to deal with it… to fix it in our lives. It takes effort, submission, humility, and more; but our commitment to God requires that we not ignore things He reveals to us. We are to act on what He shows us.
I had no clue this was in me… I mean, I know I’m not perfect, but I had totally missed this one. You can bet I will be working on it. I’ll be asking regularly for The Holy Spirit to help me overcome that. To change me on the inside because I want it gone. I want to be rid of it and be clean. I want to be obedient. I want to overcome and I want God the Father to be pleased.
Do you hear Him? Do you see when He points out things that you need to change? Be encouraged! He doesn’t reveal things to us to beat us over the head with them (tho’ the revelation of such things might feel like it sometimes). He does it because He loves us and wants to help us overcome it. We are to make the effort and “work out our salvation”, but He doesn’t leave us hanging. He helps us. Thank God He does or I’d never change.