Zechariah 9:9-12; Romans 7:14-25a; Matthew 11:25-30

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It is exhausting to always be fighting personal battles. No one wants a stressful work environment only to come home to a house with no peace. And no, this isn’t marriage advice or any advice in particular. For the fights we face aren’t always from other people. Sometimes, the fights are internal. It’s like those moments when you are trying to decide what to eat for dinner but nothing sounds good, and the longer you stare at your fridge or pantry only makes you more indecisive. It’s actually the battles going on in your head that wear you out.

When we often talk about regret, it’s often associate with making the wrong choice between two competing paths. We have regret because when we enter these “fight or flight” moments in our own head, it’s often something else within us that makes the decision. So, when we look back at it, we wonder why we ever made such a decision. Regret comes when you take the path you never wanted. 

For this is a truth that we all experience, but perhaps never fully understand. But it’s a truth which Paul unveils for us in our Epistle this week. As Paul says, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate,” Romans 7:15. As Christians, the first reality we must come to understand is the depth of our sin and it’s influence over our lives. This is what Paul tells us, “Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me,” Romans 7:16-17. Because of our fallen nature, our sin pushes us to make decisions which we know by the Law to be harmful and even destructive. Even when we desire a holy and healthy life, the temptations of sin are difficult to overcome.

Ought we then throw our hands up and give up? Of course not! For as Christians, we’ll never escape this inner struggle between sin and righteousness. On this earth, we will always be saint and sinner, fighting between the two opposing paths. And it indeed can be exhausting. But like Paul, we cry out for our Lord, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24-25. Only Jesus can help us overcome because he himself already has. Jesus alone is the one who has entered into this fight to push us, move us, even carry us away from the temptations and sins towards a life of holiness and righteousness. As Jesus says in the Gospel, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28. Only in the cross of Christ do we find peace and rest in this fight. For only by the cross has Christ put an end to the fight. He has delivered us from this body of death and sin, so that every time we mess up, he may free us by his forgiveness. For Christ has now freed us from the law of sin so that as we follow Christ through death to life, we may become obedient to the law of faith! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Gracious God, our heavenly Father, Your mercy attends us all our days. Be our strength and support amid the wearisome changes of this world, and at life’s end grant us Your promised rest and the full joys of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!