Wishin' and Hopin'

Romans 7:19 (NIV)

For 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.

Good morning Zebras,

Yesterday I shared that God told me my life was marked by the lack of self-control.

Since that isn't how I want to live, I resolved to start exhibiting self-control in ALL areas of my life. As you can imagine I had failed spectacularly by bedtime. That was Saturday.

On Sunday I dragged myself to the table to do my quiet time, telling God the whole way that self-control was an impossible task. I can't do it. I want to do good, but instead I do evil. And He reminded me of a little section in scripture where Paul said the same thing.

So I looked up Romans 7 and read it. But because I have started using my NASB Study Bible it wasn't the translation I was used to. Instead it read: For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish.

Something about the word "wish" hit home.

When I was little and I would wish for something my dad would say, "Wish in one hand, spit in the other and see which one fills up first." From that I gathered that wishing was useless.

If you continue reading in Romans you will see that Paul comes to the same conclusion stating that it is only through the power of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we can do good.

But how do I do that?

Then God brought to mind an old Dusty Springfield song. Some of you might remember it. It starts out like this:

Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
Plannin' and dreaming each night of his charms
That won't get you into his arms
So if you're lookin' to find love you can share
All you gotta do is Hold him and kiss him and love him
And show him that you care
Show him that you care just for him
And do the things he likes to do

If you want to grow in your relationship with God you have to work on it. You have to do the things that He likes to do and let Him know how much you care. You have to spend time studying your Bible and listening to Him. You have to make Him a priority.

Because as Dusty says: after you do, you will be His.

Love,
Jill