Walking With Christ

Romans 7:18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.(ESV)

I know it’s just because I’m tired that this verse seems so fitting today.  Paul said, “nothing good dwells in me”.  I can honestly say the same thing.  There is no good in me.  There is nothing good that comes from me.  This isn’t a random ‘pity me’ message.  I’m tired.  It’s in those moments when I have to, am forced to, truly am grateful for the opportunity to admit that it isn’t me who provides.  It’s when I’m tired and I have to stop to rest that I’m reminded that He has called me to rest.  He has led me here to this moment knowing that I would need rest.

It is His provision that led me here.  It is His love that supported me on the journey to getting here.  Any good that came of my passing in any moment was only possible because of His goodness.  Not only did He provide for my journey to this point, but He provided any goodness that I was blessed to share along the way.  When Paul said, “Wretched man that I am” in verse 24, he wasn’t just bashing himself.  No, he was pointing to the source of all that is good and holy.  He was pointing to Jesus.  Paul had spent a good portion of his life learning to be “good” on his own merits.  He spent quite a bit of energy persecuting followers of Jesus because of his own “goodness”.  His goodness, and mine, would see the world burn and reduced to ash.

God is the only source of good.  This is the wonderful truth of heaven.  It’s also the horrifying reality of hell.  We can either spend eternity in the living presence of all that is good, or we spend it apart from the source of all that is good.

If you’re tired, it’s ok to take time to rest.  It’s ok to need a break.  It’s the perfect time to reflect on the source of goodness in your life and acknowledge where all praise and worship belongs.