The grace message is loaded with fantabulous liberating truths for everyday living which makes us sometimes wonder, “Then why do I still struggle? It is because our problem is not our problem. We spell out the real problem in our Freedom Conferences and encourage you to attend one soon.
Let’s look at a few of the grace truths then get to more about our struggles.
*Christ is our life, not our marital status, our children, our job, our health or our relationships. “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).
*God says we are loveable because He loves us regardless of what our circumstances and relationships communicate to us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
*Our identity is in Christ as a holy, perfect, forgiven son/daughter of God. Therefore, our identity is not determined by our feelings, failures, successes, sins, obedience, past, or the opinions of people. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9). Also, see Hebrews 10:10, Ephesians 1:7, and Romans 8:15.
*God accepts us in Christ because He made us acceptable when He gave us His righteousness. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Since all of these are 100% true of us, then why do we still struggle? The Bible tells us that it is because of the world, the flesh and the devil who are opposing us at every opportunity. The flesh is the tool the world forms in us and the devil takes advantage of to discourage, defeat, and even depress us. That begs a question that we must all answer. How clear are we in our understanding of our unique sin patterns in our flesh? There are positive ones and negative ones.
One of the things I love about our ministry is that we help people understand the characteristics of the flesh in general and the specific ones each person has. In our counseling and conferences, we are able to let the Holy Spirit show this to people. How about you? Do you know what the thinking, feeling, and behavior patterns you have which make up your flesh? If not, then you will not yet understand that your problem is not your problem. It’s typically just a symptom of your flesh.
A great way to begin to discover this is by attending one of our Freedom Conferences. We have one coming up in early May that would be incredibly beneficial to you whether you are in counseling or not. Look at EVENTS or CALENDAR on GraceLifeInternational.com to find out more info and how to register. After 26 years of teaching this, we are confident you will come away with insight and encouragement!
