Frustration at It's Finest

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” –Romans 7:15

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” –Acts 3:19

“When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’  She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’” –John 8:10-11

 

Yeah, this verse in Romans is so easy to attest to for us isn’t it men? Paul hit the nail on the head when he said, “Why do I do what I don’t want to do?!” How often do we as men mess up this way with acting out yet once again sexually, with lying to someone, or saying the wrong thing? It leaves us frustrated and beating ourselves up inside. It feels sometimes as if we’ll never get it right or get victory over the sin in our life that we wrestle with. You can have assurance though that God convicts while Satan condemns and rubs it in. God doesn’t condem you though. He lovingly shows you the error of your ways and asks you to turn from it. Keep in mind men, if you’re not wrestling with any sin in your life you might want to start to do some inward self-examination because it’s possible you’re no longer in the battle fighting the sin you should be struggling to conquer in God’s strength. Maybe you've given up. Just a thought for you to consider.

The second passage above says to repent and turn from that stupid sin that keeps messing you up. God forgives constantly but he wants us to repent which is more than just saying sorry. It’s turning from that sin into new pastures and leaving that sin behind like he told the woman at the well in the book of John when he said, “I don’t condemn you; so go and stop sinning.” See men, we are held with the chords of our sin but there is freedom with turning to Christ and letting him lovingly embrace us and forgive us for our sin as we repent and walk away from it.

As men it’s so important in order to be an affective Christian man of God to keep a short sin account and become aware of our shortcomings and the dark corners of our heart. The Bible tells us to do some inward inspection and ask God to search our hearts and see if we have any hidden sin that we haven’t turned from in our life. God shines his light on the darkest corners of your mind and heart and only he can give you the awareness you need to improve as his child. Guys, it’s a pretty simple pattern; you mess up and do that sin that you are so frustrated with because you didn’t want to do it and you fall again in your walk. Then, you ask for forgiveness and run from it and leave it in the past without going back to it. Remember when you fall, that God understands our hearts and he sees our motives whether good or bad. He knows it’s tough. What do you need to stop doing in your life? Who do you need to stop hanging with? What place do you need to stop visiting? Setting boundaries is all a part of repentance so you can get freedom from that sin that keeps dragging you down.

When you want to beat yourself up after sinning, don’t forget it’s ok to feel bad and sorry but you are not condemned. God convicts; Satan condemns. You are not a lost cause!