Besetting Sin

  “I never intended to do it.” “I thought I had victory over this, but now my life is a wreck, and I have disappointed my family and friends AGAIN.”

  Can you relate? You thought you’d never take another drink, never partake of that drug again, never tell another lie, or allow yourself to be entertained by such filth again. You truly believed that you were beyond the moral trap, that you could put your life back together and avoid your besetting sin, but here you are again in the pit, feeling the weight of despair.

  This may be a common predicament, but take no comfort in the fact that you are not alone in the pit. It is no consolation that many stumble, or that the mighty have fallen. There is cause for fear when we console ourselves in sin, because sin is destructive, and its end is always death.

  But there is hope! Jesus spoke of His great desire for us, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18).” If you are willing to open your eyes and turn from your sin, the forgiveness He offers can be yours by simply placing your trust in Him.

  With our sins forgiven, though still imperfect, we are emboldened by the testimonies of those who walked the path before us, and kept the faith. We can be empowered to lay aside our besetting sins with new resolve not to return to them. As believers we are told to fix our eyes on Jesus who has walked before us in a robe of flesh, and now stands at the end of life’s path, arms outstretched, saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28).”

  If we should stumble unwittingly into sin again, as His children, God stands ready to set our feet back on the path of light. He tells us that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9).”