Why...

This morning that is the question on my mind.  
Why?  
Why do I fail at so many things?


I'm drawn to Paul's letter to the church in Rome.  In chapter 7 he says, 
"¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
 ²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! "


I was writing in my journal this morning about all the things that I wish I was doing a better job at...treasuring my husband and kids, learning a new language, managing the things of our household, passionately loving my Lord, memorizing scripture, sharing with those around me, touching lives, hearing His voice and obeying.  


I then read Galatians 3 and was convicted by verse 3:  "Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the spirit are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"


Ummm....yes, I think we've found the problem friends.  I am so foolish.  I am trying to attain my goal by human effort.  No wonder I'm not measuring up to what I want to be...I'm trying to do it in Randi's strength and Randi's wisdom...neither of which are as great as I often allow myself to believe they are.  


There is encouragement though...I didn't stop reading at the end of chapter 7 of Romans...I kept on reading into chapter 8.


If you too struggle with what I'm describing here you should take the time to read all of Romans 8.  It is so rich:  "there is therefore no condemnation", "the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you", "we share in his sufferings in order to also share in his glory", "the spirit helps us in our weakness"...


Paul concludes the passage with these words, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[m]neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither 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."


Did you hear that...NOTHING can separate us from the love of God!  Not our own failures, not actions of those around us...NOTHING!


I wish I had the secret to always walking in the spirit...to everyday allowing Him to do the work as I simply believe like Abraham did...to feeling the love that He has promised we will never be separated from, but I do not...there is no secret formula...that is the struggle.


Pray for me as I learn to walk in the spirit and allow me to pray for you too as you learn to walk "as more than a conqueror".  Do you struggle with this too?  How are you learning to remain in the spirit?