The Person God Uses — 5 Day Devotionalनमूना

DAY 2 | DEALING WITH KNOWN SIN

Often, you have the desire to be used by God, but you may not want to deal with known sin in your life. It’s too hard. It’s too uncomfortable. You just don’t want to. But you need to. King Asa didn’t just call the people to seek the Lord and identify their sin; he dealt with it. He removed the idols, broke down the altars, and made it clear that compromise wouldn’t be tolerated in the land. He didn’t look the other way or wait for someone else to handle it. He acted. It wasn’t a quiet or contemplative thought. He confidently and publicly dealt with it without any regrets or fears. Remember, Jesus taught us (Matthew 5:29-30) that if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Jesus wasn’t teaching us to cut off body parts. He was teaching us that radically rooted sin needs to be dwelt with radically, directly, and thoroughly. If we ignore sin, it doesn’t go away. It grows. Unfortunately, sin always takes more from us than we planned to give.

Known sin keeps us from being useful. You can’t lead well, love well, or walk closely with Jesus when there’s something you’re hiding in the dark. Again, that’s what Jesus was getting at when He talked about cutting off your hand if it causes you to sin. He wasn’t being literal. He was being honest about how serious sin really is. You don’t coddle it. You confront it.

There’s always a temptation to manage sin rather than remove it. Maybe it’s something private that no one else knows about. Or maybe it’s something you’ve just learned to live with because you’ve convinced yourself it’s not hurting anyone. Those are both bad postures to take. Why? Sin always brings death. Sin always takes something from us. It doesn’t stay contained. And if you want to grow in usefulness, if you want God to use you, you can’t afford to pretend sin is no big deal.

God’s grace is real, but so is the call to holiness. Take the step. Have the hard conversation. Put the filter on your phone. Cancel the subscription. Cut off what needs to go. Get rid of it. Like King Asa did, deal with the sin in your life. Ask someone for help if you need it. God isn’t waiting for you to clean up your life perfectly. He’s waiting for you to take it seriously and surrender it to Him.

GUIDED PRAYER:

Lord, I don’t want to keep things in my life that don’t belong. I want to walk in the light. If there’s sin I’ve been ignoring or hiding, please bring it to the surface. Help me take it seriously and deal with it, not just talk about it. Give me the kind of conviction that leads to action, not just guilt. I trust You to give me strength.

Amen.