Day 2776 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Psalm 139:24 NIV

I think we can all be honest with ourselves, not that we necessarily want to be honest with ourselves, but it is a choice that's well within our realm of possibility. In all honesty, sanctification is not a process that many if any of us would choose to undergo. If we had it our way, we'd all stay happy and cozy and content in our lives of filth because we're not all that big on things like change or effort or self-control. We would all choose the lazy and complacent path if left to our own devices.

And actually, many do choose that path through life and they lavish in all of its deluded and foolish lies that tell them they're enjoying this most perfect version of freedom, that they've found the secret to a successful life in being able to do as they please, and that not really facing any consequences is proof that their choice is right. In fact, so many choose that road of selfish delusion that it makes anyone who goes the opposite way seem absolutely insane.

As we kind of touched on yesterday, who would actually choose this path that we're led along in striving to follow Christ? Who would choose to forego all the offerings of this world? Who would knowingly say no to things that millions have and are and will say yes to? Who would sit around and daily search their souls for things that aren't okay when much of the world tells us that everything we do is okay? Who would choose to die to self when our entire society is built around selfishness and greed?

It just doesn't make any sense to our fallen human minds, and that's why so many laugh it off and make fun of us weirdos who opt for the hard path through this place. They simply don't understand why we think the way we do. They don't understand what they perceive as a lack of freedom that's the result of a bunch of rules and limits and expectations and commands that a bunch of random people agreed upon a couple thousand years ago.

To the outside world, our faith is nothing but an antiquated idea that exists only to try and control people with this threat of punishment should they fail to live up to these radical and extreme and controlled and vastly different ideals than the rest of the world is chasing.

But in reality, our faith offers us the chance to see things from a perspective that our hearts can no longer outrun. The weight of our guilt piled up to the point that we couldn’t rationalize any possible excuse or reason or way to ignore it any longer. We finally sat down and saw that what we were doing wasn’t getting anything good or anything lasting or anything with any meaning whatsoever. So we began to wonder what else we might have gotten wrong. What else could we change in order to finally feel more of that shame lifted off of our hearts? What more can we learn that actually helps us live a life free from all the stupid mistakes we’ve made in the past?

So why do we do this? Why do we ask God to lead us away from what we've long found comfortable and pleasurable and fun and exciting? Why do we ask Him to sift through our lives and help us remove all the things that we may enjoy yet that He doesn't agree with? Why do we surrender our selfish freedom to satisfy our filthy desires in exchange for a life that's seemingly limited and boring and dull? Why are we willing to give away this world and everything in it in exchange for a distant hope that tells us doing so will be worth it later on?

Because once you’ve felt the feeling of a prisoner being set free, you want more of it.

We sit around evaluating our lives because He opened our eyes to the reality of who we've been, what we've done, where we've gone wrong, and how He created us with the capacity to do so much more. We finally caught a glimpse of a freedom that this world doesn't understand. It's not a freedom to indulge ourselves. Not a freedom from the threat of consequences. Not this world's freedom from truth and reality and the responsibility to weigh the cost of our choices.

No, we caught a glimpse of freedom from guilt and shame and regret and remorse and sorrow and the weight of all the sin that our hearts have long tried to ignore through chasing more and more empty promises that only ever kept us distracted for a moment before the truth started to seep back in. We found a freedom from continuing to carry our mistakes and the opportunity to lay them down in exchange for a forgiveness that we could never even give ourselves.

That's what so many don't understand about our faith. They've closed their hearts to it and therefore haven't experienced what it feels like. They haven't experienced the radical change that comes when we reach the end of ourselves and step into a life that we simply never knew was possible. They don't know freedom because they continue to be enslaved to a lie that has them convinced they have nothing to change because they've done nothing wrong and therefore don't need to be forgiven.

That's probably the hardest part in all this. It's admitting that we're not the authors of morality. It's humbling ourselves to accepting the fact that there is a higher power, a greater source of wisdom, a more perfect standard than the one that we've long thought to be good enough. It’s accepting the fact that we have fallen and failed so many times to come anywhere close to getting anything right. And that kind of humble reality is simply too painful for us as humans to willingly endure, let alone actively seek.

But what the world largely sees and miserable and painful is truly one of the most amazing gifts ever, because it changes us for the better. The opportunity to have God take over, help us get ourselves straightened out, and teach us how to live for more than the empty existence that we've called life up until now is truly priceless. Because we can't do it alone. Alone, we'd quit. We'd run back to what's normal. We'd simply settle for staying where we are because this kind of change simply takes more than our broken and sinful hearts can muster.

Thankfully, we don't do this alone. It's not on us to figure it all out. It's a process, a journey, a gradual shift in which we continue learning more and more as we go along and grow closer to Jesus. We slowly stop thinking as the world thinks and find that there's something more than human understanding. We read through Scripture that helps us discover His unyielding and unrelenting truth that confronts our complacency and gives us the instructions that help us begin building better lives. He offers us the blueprint to something better, and He walks patiently with us throughout this journey toward the ultimate goal of Heavenly peace.

Oddly enough, this sanctification process, while alien and strange and sometimes painful, it's also joyous and exciting and peaceful because we know deep in our hearts that it's the right direction. We've spent so long following where we wanted to go only to find nothing but despair and loneliness and anger and frustration. And while so much of the world remains consumed by the illusions offered by sin, we know where that road leads. And having been at rock bottom feeling the weight of our sins trying to drive us even deeper into the abyss, we simply want something better for ourselves.

And that's the whole key. God wants better for us too. He wants nothing but the best. Not what we think is best. Not what the world thinks is best. But He actually wants us to have the opportunity to spend eternity in this peaceful rest that this world simply cannot offer. But like it or not, our own choices closed that door. We turned away from that hope to follow our own path toward our own desires. Yet, in His immense love for us, He sent Christ to offer us the chance to turn around again and head back in a better direction.

Friends, what we think is amazing lasts only a moment before the rush has faded and we once again find ourselves struggling with this empty feeling caused by trying to fill the holes inside with things that are themselves empty. We're so used to living a life that’s offensive to God that we don't even realize it anymore. We don't realize that it's our choices that cause our unrest. We don't understand that sin, while fun for a moment, causes more damage every time we give in and play the victim to its lies.

We have a chance to get off of this sick and twisted merry-go-round and finally find a road that leads to something that lasts. Through that cross, Christ opened the door for us to receive His Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the opportunity to see the reality of the lives we've lived and all the pitiful choices we've made. And through that realization, we have the opportunity to ask God to help us do better so that we are no longer slaves to things that break His heart and destroy our own.

The sad reality is that there are offensive ways in all of us. Things that go against God have long been our joy. But we need to ask ourselves what it is that we've gained. How have we prospered in living a life enveloped in darkness and depravity? And mostly, is it where you want to stay? Because make no mistake, that is an option and it's one that we see so many choosing every single day as sin continues to grow and flourish in this place.

But if you want something better, just know that there is something better. There's something far better. And God, through His inconceivable mercy and undeserved grace not only gives us the chance to find it, but He lovingly walks with us every step of the way so that we don't get lost again. It's gonna hurt to have Him show us everything we've gotten wrong. It's going to require a lot of humility and even more patience as we learn to let go and aim higher than where we've been. But it's worth it!

It’s worth it because His path is the only one that leads to anything good. And not only does His path lead to something good, it’s something good that lasts forever. And that’s something that all the fleeting pleasure of sin simply cannot offer.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold