The vast majority of us have the experience of victory through our faith in Jesus over certain temptations which for years may have mastered us. But many of us also have an experience of a very different kind. There are some temptations over which victory comes with great difficulty and then often only for a limited time. I have often wondered as I am sure you have as to why we should find it so difficult to get rid of certain weaknesses when others of a far more serious character have been completely mastered? Why, for example, should a man who has received victory over drunkenness find difficulty in getting mastery over self-pity? We sincerely believe we want to get rid of the troublesome failing. We ask God to remove it out of our lives, but deep down there is quite a definite unwillingness to let it go completely. A man who surrenders impurity, but continues to read salacious books, is not so serious in his prayer for purity as he imagines. It does not take a strong rope to moor a yacht to the bank, nor does it take a very strong desire to anchor a sin when our better selves would be free. There must be a readiness for permanent renunciation, before God can do His complete work in our lives.
John.
