His mercies are new everyday

            

                Have you ever gone through one of those phases where it really gets hard to pray or read the bible? You have a guilty conscience that keeps eating you up when you close your eyes. You can't even read a few verses of the Bible because it either becomes uninteresting or guilt acts up. When the preacher preaches, each word pierces through your heart and you wonder whether he is actually roasting you. Your worship and praise becomes affected too. It is in one of these times that you really question whether you have fallen from the grace. It is a difficult period because that's when your faith is put to the test. This phase can be brought by many things.
              First, I think the number one reason why we often fall back to sin and hopelessness is failure to feed or service our spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, "Quench not the spirit." The spirit needs to be fed and nourished. It needs to be constantly serviced and taken care of just like you would a car. A car needs regular maintenance. It needs oil change, wheel service, engine maintenance etc. every now or then or it will end up beat up. And so does our spirit. You must nourish him with prayer, the word of God and worship. Failure to do so brings forth an emptiness and void that need to be filled. It widens the gap between us and God. It is detrimental that you never quench the spirit.
            Sin brings separation. That is why we were separated from God in the garden of Aden because God cannot live in sin.  1 peter 1:16 says, "because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."  Zechariah 2:13 says, "Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation." Every once in a while, we find ourselves having slipped. We lie, steal, abuse or any other type of sin. Guilt eats us up and the phase kicks in. Before you know it, you're back at square one. We should not sin but we should also know that we have a mediator for our sins.
1 Timothy 2:5 says, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," (NIV). Therefore, get up, dust yourself, ask for forgiveness and turn away from your sins. I know it is not as easy as it sounds which brings me to my main point. That His mercies are new everyday. The journey of salvation is gradual. It is a daily process. It is a building up and strengthening that will eventually result in completeness or holiness. Thus the Lord is merciful and faithful throughout the whole process. He wants you to complete the journey. He has good plans for you (Jeremiah 1:29). When you fall, He will pick you up  with his unending mercy.  Proverbs 24:16 says, "For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes."

                You have to trust the process and trust in the Lord. Though it's not a gamble and we should not try to take this freedom and mercy for granted. Romans 6:15 says, "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!" We should by all means avoid sin and run away from it but if we fall let's remember that our God is mighty to save (Zephaniah 3:17). Therefore, let us stay vigilant and wise about the weapons used against us like guilt. Let us gird our loins and know that our God loves us and his mercies are endearing and forever.