Freedom? Why the Weight?

Let me share my recent feelings and experience.

I haven’t been sleeping well at night. There is a heavy weight. I will doubt myself. I’m constantly examining everything. Did I say that right? Did I do that right? Did I have the right motivation? And usually it’s no, no and no and then I get depressed and feel like a failure. I start praying and praising and reading His Word to pull me out of it. I want to be like Jesus and I hate the sin I see in myself and just sin in general.

This is my response to myself…

The gospel doesn’t weigh us down. Our sin weighs us down. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. Although, the true gospel makes us more acutely aware of our sin and the weight of it. The burden of sin is heavy, but the gospel is our freedom.

We have been justified by faith. His righteousness is counted to us. The debt is paid through the work of the cross, but this doesn’t mean all our troubles go away.

Pressing on through this life we are being purified. We are being conformed into the likeness of Him. We will go through fire. Just like a diamond has to go through the fire to become brilliant and radiant how much more do we? This won’t be always comfortable, and easy, but rest assured His burden is light in comparison to carrying the weight of our own sin.

Looking ahead, we await our final freedom from death and decay where the struggle with this weight of sin is no longer.

God’s grace is carrying us all the way. My identity is not in my performance. My identity is in Him. “My sheep hear my voice.”The Christian life is one persevering step after another. Be steadfast pressing on to the goal. The goal is the final glorification, being rid of sin and being in the presence of the Lord for eternity.

When our sin trips us up and our flesh gets the best of us, let us not waste a minute to run back to our Shepherd. He is a God of abounding grace and mercy. He knows our weakness. Ask Him for forgiveness and know that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Do you feel the weight of sin?

Rest assured that is a good thing. CS Lewis said, “A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.”

Let our hearts and minds not become desensitized and comfortable with sin, but instead take that weight and lay it at the foot of the cross, where we will find our peace and comfort.

Press on brothers and sisters.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Hebrews 12:1