This is my favorite coffee shop, Port City Java, located in beautiful, historic, downtown Wilmington, NC. I have spent several hours sitting at this table, thinking about life. There’s something about the atmosphere of this coffee shop that helps me clear my head and focus.
I have sat in this window seat and watched it pour down rain, viewed rush hour traffic, and witnessed movie stars getting coffee (by the way, Wilmington is also known as “Hollywood East”). I’ve been at this table and felt closer to God than ever, and I have also sat in this spot and felt more afraid and alone than I care to remember. But no matter how I’m feeling when I arrive at Port City Java, once I get a Grande House Coffee and sit in my favorite spot for a while, life starts getting better. It becomes a New Day!
Recently, I was sitting at PCJ journaling and listening to my iPod. I was dwelling on a particular struggle that seems to plague me constantly. The song, “New Day”, by Robbie Seay Band, shuffled through my iPod. It was a perfect moment in time as I heard these lyrics through my earbuds:
I’m gonna sing this song, To let you know that you’re not alone, And if you’re like me, You need hope, coffee, and melody, So sit back down, Let the world keep spinning ‘round, For yesterday’s gone and today is waiting on you to show your face
It might not be, The prettiest thing that you’ll ever see, But it’s a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day, And it might not look like, A beautiful sunrise, But it’s a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day
There’s a book in the Old Testament called Lamentations and a lot of people tend to skip over it. However, one of my favorite passages of Scripture can be found in Lamentations 23:22-24:
”God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, His merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.”
That’s The Message translation and I like it, a lot! The writer paints a picture of God’s merciful love as being new every morning. For me, that’s a relief. I need a fresh start every day and I am so very thankful that God provides one for me. But sometimes, like when I’m really struggling with a particular sin, I forget this truth. At times, it seems that no matter how hard I try, I deal with the same sin over and over again. And to make matters worse, I beat myself up for not being stronger and for failing to conquer that which overpowers me. It’s a vicious circle, and right in the center of it is where the enemy wants me to live. But when I’m spiraling downwards, and can remember to look up, God reminds me of Lamentations 23:22-24; then it becomes a New Day for me.
It’s a new day because God is merciful, loving, and gracious. Through His Son Jesus, God dealt with my sin, past, present, and future, once and for all. In essence, He made it a “New Day” for each of us. Does that mean we give up struggling and just give in to our temptations? By no means! However, it does mean that even though we get weak in our fight against sin, we can find some comfort through Christ, in whom the war has already been won. Rob Bell speaks of this so poignantly in his book Velvet Elvis, “In the end, Love wins!”.
Romans Chapter 7 is section of the Bible that I read over and over; you could say I live there. In this part of Scripture, the Apostle Paul describes his own personal struggle with sin. Paul tells the reader in Chapter 7, verses 18-19 “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” Maybe it means I’m a bit warped, but I find great comfort in the fact that the guy whom God used to write most of the New Testament struggled just like I do.
Paul later makes this statement, “But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.” In other words, there is a war going on between our flesh and our spirit. And no matter how hard we may fight in the flesh, we must remember that it’s a spiritual battle. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” -Ephesians 6:12.
Here’s the bottom line: we are going to struggle with sin and sometimes lose the fight; it’s inevitable. This is not an excuse, nor is it a license to give in to temptation and go on sinning; its just a fact. But instead of beating ourselves up over and over and allowing defeat to dominate our minds and our hearts, we should remember that the battle has already been won. We can find comfort in the fact that God creates “A New Day” for each of us by making his merciful love new every morning. That’s great news!
On a practical level, find someone you trust and share your struggles with them. Accountability doesn’t mean you’ll stop struggling completely, but it will make it much easier to deal with; and you will be a healthier person for it. Don’t try it alone, regardless of how strong you think you are. If kept in secret, your sin will grow into a monster that you will be unable to fight. It will both consume and destroy your life. Eventually, all sin is exposed; no matter how hard you try to hide it. What you do in private will inevitably become public. So, would you rather it become public with a close, trusted friend who can hold you accountable? Or, would you rather it become public before a much larger group like your peers or your family?
Whatever your struggle is, remember that you’re not alone. Take a breath, find your favorite spot, and rest in these lyrics by Robbie Seay:
I’m gonna sing this song, To let you know that you’re not alone, And if you’re like me, You need hope, coffee, and melody, So sit back down, Let the world keep spinning ‘round, For yesterday’s gone and today is waiting on you to show your face It might not be, The prettiest thing that you’ll ever see, But it’s a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day, And it might not look like, A beautiful sunrise, But it’s a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day
That’s a great song. Thanks for sharing!
wow! my boy, this was definitely written for me and I needed it today especially. Can I say it enough…no I can’t. I love you and am so very proud of you and glad you are my son…that’s my gift from God on earth.
I liked that blog. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent reading that part of Romans. I used to wonder, how can we be this imperfect in this world… and then die and we’re resurrected perfect. And like you.. it helped me to see how Paul struggled with this part of human existence.
My recent take is that on this planet, we’re tied to these bodies and these bodies, by their very nature are imperfect. I think many of the things we struggle against come from our bodies (spirit and flesh??) because those behaviors increased the chances of genes being passed along, and so that trait was “rewarded” in the genetic battle. We live in a biochemical realm where those behaviors are “wired”. In a very strange sense by its imperfection, it’s a “perfect” place to practice discipline.
When we go to the next life, we no longer have these bodies and the biochemical drives will no longer exist. Much easier to be “perfected” in that environment.
That’s my $0.02 worth.. anyway.
Thanks for the blog!
I used to feel like everytime I caught myself in sin, I had to start from square one with God. I would beat myself up, go dark on God and wallow in my self pity. Then I realized when we become Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells in us an through us. At the point of salvation, we not on receive Jesus as our Savior but we also receive the Holy Spirit as the embodiment of the new man. Our old man is replaced with the new man in Christ. Our sin is nailed to the cross. We are forgiven and free. The sin nature is still there and temptation is as well but the difference now is that the Holy Spirit fights the battle for us. I rest in knowing that I don’t have to battle with the sin nature alone. I just have to recognize it as what it is and allow God to take control. “The battle is the Lord’s!” For me, God is not my “co-pilot” he’s flying the plane. I’m just enjoying the ride!
Thank you for these encouraging words. He is awalys with us if we would remember that in the midst of the pain, loss, conflict whatever, we would surely be comforted through it. He never leaves us or forsakes us; He is a good and loving Father. We have so much to be thankful for!Peace and grace,Charlotte
Amen and AMEN and that reminds me of one of my voafrite praise and worship hymn songs Blessed Be the Lord by Matt Redman including these words of encouragement Every blessing You pour out, I’ll turn back to praise, When the darkness closes in, Lord, Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord! It’s not easy, but we can do ALL things through Christ Who gives us strength. Thanks for such an uplifting Word-Filled Wednesday AND another great calendar page.