It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I tell myself this sometimes when I feel frustrated with life. Life is hard. The Christian life was not meant to be easy, either.
Sometimes I get frustrated that I am not more mature in my faith – I have to admit I get impatient with myself and my growth. Things I want to change about myself don’t change as fast as I want them to!
Thankfully, our Heavenly Father knows us inside and out. So, I turn to his Word, which is faithful and true, and there to help us in the midst of trials and frustration. He inspired Paul to write these words in Romans 7:15, which help me when I am hard on myself. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do.” That’s the New International Version. The New Living Translation says it this way “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.”
Even Paul struggled with the “already and not yet.” He had Jesus living in him, but was still a human and would struggle with sin nature until he left this earth and went to be with Christ.
But the story does not end here. We are not to wallow in despair. Paul goes on to say in 7:24-25, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” We have a wonderful Savior who has indeed saved us from death, so we can rejoice!
One verse I find a lot of comfort in when I try to remember I will not be perfect in this life is Philippians 1:6, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Even when I am frustrated because I don’t think I’m growing, God will not stop working on me.
I try to focus on that and ask Jesus to lead me every step of the way.
Melissa