Your Grace is Enough

I'm not known for my positive outlook on life. Unfortunately, I tend to dwell on the negatives of almost every situation. This morning I found myself doing just that, yet again. 

I felt such a weight of discouragement at the knowledge that every single day I continue on in my sin. Some of which may not seem so bad at times, others haunt me, but whatever it I'm dealing with, I deal with over and over again. Every day is a constant struggle of wanting to do right, and finding myself going astray. 

I've been reading Romans with a good friend of mine lately, specifically chapters 5-8, and I have found that I am not alone in this struggle. I know that I have died to sin and have been made a slave of righteousness (6), and that my flesh will still fail at times until I am fully sanctified (7), and that no matter what I do, I am in Christ, and will not suffer condemnation for my struggles (8). These are truths that should have brought comfort, but somehow I still felt disheartened and longing for the day that I will be fully sanctified - made complete in the image of Christ. That is a good longing, and not one that should bring about sadness, I know, but sometimes I just hate the thought that I'm not there yet. I have so much further to go. 

Thankfully, God stopped me right there. I woke up this morning with the song, "O For a Thousand Tongues" stuck in my head. Specifically, this stanza:

He breaks the power of cancelled sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean,

His blood availed for me.

I suddenly became overwhelmed with the awareness that my sin has been cancelled. That Christ's righteousness has been imputed to me, and that doesn't fail when I do. When God looks at me, he doesn't see my mistakes; He sees the One that paid for them.

And the truth is, I am being sanctified. Romans 6:22 says, "But now that you have been set free from sin, and become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." This doesn't mean we are free from the presence of sin, but we are free from its power. We are still susceptible to sin, though not a slave to it. And as we continue toward sanctification, even our susceptibility to sin weakens! Because we are being made like Christ! 

I am not there yet, but I will be. That is not a cause for distress in my present state, but rather a motivation to move forward. To actively long for the day that I will be done with this struggle. To praise God for the future He has. 

O for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer's praise,

The glories of my God and King,

The triumphs of His grace!