Be Patient With Yourself
Ezra 10:13
“But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.”
As Ezra tried to clean up the sin of the people, he reminded them in this verse that the process of overcoming their sin was going to be a long process. You will notice in this verse the Ezra told the people, “...neither is this a work of one day or two...” He was trying to remind the people that the battle to overcome sin would be a constant battle that would take time. Ezra was trying to get them to be patient with themselves so that they would not get discouraged in their great battle.
Let me remind you, like Ezra did, that the process of overcoming sin will take some time. Many times people desire to overcome sin, but when they see the desire for sin has not left them, they get discouraged and quit fighting their sin. Remember, sin doesn't just happen in one day. Because sin doesn't happen in one day, the process of overcoming that sin won’t happen in one day. It will take time to overcome your sin.
Christian, you must be patient with yourself in the battle to overcome sin. Yes, we should give our best effort to overcoming sin, but our appetite for sin will not be diminished over night. Though there are some who quit their sin and never do it again, I have found that many times it is a long battle to overcoming sin. We must be patient with ourselves realizing that we are getting closer to overcoming the sin. As long as there is growth, be patient with yourself.
On the other hand, don't use this philosophy of being patient with yourself as your excuse to continue in sin. There is no good excuse to continue in sin. Yes, we must be patient with ourselves, but patience should not become an excuse to sin.
Taking this one step further, don't try to fight all of your sins at one time. Because there were many people involved in this sin, Ezra reminded the people that the work of overcoming sin was going to take many days. Likewise, because we have many sins, we must not try to conquer them all at one time. Yes, we should focus on trying to get rid of all sin, but we must focus on one battle at a time. When you focus on one battle, you have a better chance of overcoming that one battle quicker than focusing on all your weaknesses and sins.
Whatever you do don't give up in the battle over your weaknesses and sins. Be patient with yourself, realizing that victory over sin will take more than one day to conquer. Keep fighting sin! Keep overcoming sin one at a time and you will find yourself experiencing the victory you desire.
To contact Evangelist Allen Domelle, send an email to contact@oldpathsjournal.com.
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