February 3, 2021
Try Again
Romans 7:15 “ I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”
Oh how the human spirit struggles against sin. We try to please God by following His commands. The power of sin is stronger than we can fight with our own strength. We have been given God’s provision to overcome sin through the Holy Spirit. I remember my mom telling her seven children a prayer she would say every morning before she came out to greet us. She would ask the Lord to give her a kind spirit as she welcomed us in the morning. She was well aware of what she would find in the morning sprawled across the living room floor. She would be greeted by 14 shoes and 14 socks decorating the living room floor. My brothers’ night shirts would be tossed on chairs as they started to strip from their evening sleep. She was behind the eight ball before her day even started and she was frustrated. Yet every day, her goal was to do better the next morning, and the next morning she tried again. God knew her heart and everyday He gave her grace upon grace.
I too have my own demons I fight. It might not be shoes and socks from seven messy children, but I have my own sinful side. I know what is right and I long to do what is right, and sometimes I just don’t. I pray for victory over what controls me. Yet old habits die hard. So I confess and pray to the Holy Spirit to begin again. Thank God we are instructed to forget those things which are behind and press toward the goal. We are also told He remembers our sins no more. We have a clean slate to begin again. Can there be idolatry in penance? If we continue to rehash and punish ourselves for past sins, are we forgetting God’s grace, the One who has already forgiven us?
New Sheet
She came to my desk with a quivering lip, the lesson was done.
Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher? I have spoiled this one.
I took her sheet all spoiled and blotted and gave her a new one all unspotted.
Into her tired heart I cried, “Do better now, my child.”
New Day
I came to the throne with a trembling heart; the day was done.
Have you a new day for me, dear Master? I’ve spoiled this one.
He took my day, all soiled and blotted and gave me a new one all unspotted.
And into my tired heart he cried, “Do better now, my child.”
Author Unknown
Lord, You know our heart and our struggles and You love us anyway, no matter how many times we fail.
-- Michele