I'm not perfect. None of us are. In this imperfect world, we are all going to have things that hinder us and give us problems as believers. Too many times I think we expect to be perfect then when we sin, we are stuck in and unnecessary discouragement cycle.
You may not have any problems at all with stealing or killing anyone but there are other things which do. Hebrews 12:1 says:
We all have something that gives us problems. I have met people before in my life who would quote a Bible verse in any situation. You couldn't ask them about the weather without them saying something in the Kings James Version. We used to say these people were "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good". That is a bit harsh, but this journey is not always a mountaintop spiritual experience.
Even the Apostle Paul had to deal with his own hinderance with what the Bible describes as a "thorn in the flesh". (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) We are not told exactly what that "thorn" was but I think many times it was intentional that we didn't know so that we could all put our own "thorn" in its place.
Whether it is a problem, sin, or hinderance, there is that one thing which may cause us to fail repeatedly. Maybe it's your temper, maybe it's lust or pride. Whatever it is, that "thorn" is something we encounter in life. It trips us up but that doesn't mean we are "backslid" or have to start all over again. I grew up in a church like that. One wrong move and you had to start over again. That's just not the way it works. God understands our human condition. I'm not saying He condones our sin, but He knows it isn't easy for us. We have a repeat offense in our lives, the enemy immediately dumps discouragement and condemnation on us.
If there is one thing, I can tell you from a life of experience in being a believer, when you have given into a sin or a hindrance, do NOT get silent with God. Keep talking to Him. He isn't always looking to punish us. He does punish us at times but He's not waiting with the golden hammer to pound us with it when we do wrong.
When you have allowed a sin or hinderance to happen:
- Confess to God what you've done immediately.
- Sincerely ask for forgiveness. Don't just blow past this step.
- Talk about why it happened? Were you hungry? Depressed? Upset? Were you with the wrong people?
- Make a plan how to deal with it in the future. Avoid the bad influences.
- Thank God for His grace and mercy.
- Resolve to do better. Never give up!
I will be honest with you and say that there have also been times I just totally "zone out" and fall into the sin or hinderance without even consciously realizing it. We need to urgently seek that the Holy Spirit will ping us when we are entering those times so that we can avert those "zone out" moments. We have to discipline (ugh....I don't like that word either) ourselves to develop good habits to avoid the traps which ensnare us.
We must avoid the "silence trap" when we have committed an offense. What happens is that a day of not talking to God turns into weeks and months. We need to keep talking to Him. We should talk about why we messed up and understand why we did it and how to avoid it from happening next time. Too many times we put God on a human level in that when we've done wrong that He doesn't want to hear from us or talk to us. When we've done wrong, we need to sincerely ask forgiveness and seek His help. We shouldn't avoid Him. Romans 8:1 assures us that there is no condemnation for those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Don't mess up and not confess up. Confess it and move on.
