TIRED CHRISTIANS

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good (Romans 7:15–16, ESV). Many Christians are tired; some are exhausted. Are you an exhausted Christian? Here's a measuring stick: You don’t have the passion for God you once had and feel a vague guilt about it. The sequence follows a predictable pattern: seasons of renewed expectation and energetic pursuit, followed by encroaching disappointment and, finally, utter exhaustion. You wonder, What’s wrong with me? Why don’t I learn? Why don’t I change? Will things ever be different? You have tried serving, spending yourself working "for Christ" as you search for a fuller Christian experience through "doing" ministry.  Exhausted, you pull back for awhile and pursue knowledge, digging into Bible studies, committing to new quiet-time schedules, and reading books about spiritual disciplines. That too lasts for a little while, and some good certainly comes of growth through serving and focused time in God’s Word. Yet, too often you feel like the joy you were promised at rebirth is still eluding you. Other seasons of worthy pursuits may come and go—getting more into worship services, hanging out with your small group, serving the poor, sharing your faith, praying more, etc. All of it fueled by a sincere intent to live as God desires, followed by failure, frustration, and exhaustion. Does any of this sound familiar? The apostle Paul faced the same dilemma: a desire to do good but an inability to get it done. What Paul described in Romans 7:15–18, and what many of us experience too often, is the exhausting Christian life. The joyous Christian life was eluding Paul, however, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he admitted it. Paul acknowledged that at a certain point in time his Christian life was not working. For him it was a "temporary" problem, but sadly, for many of Christians it’s all they ever experience. Having precepts without power, rules without resources, good deeds without grace, laws without life is exhausting and ineffective. It is the powerless-graceless Christian life. Forgiven? Yes, but slipping into a lukewarm mediocrity, you begin to view the dynamic, Spirit-filled, satisfying Christian life that God promised as if it was a carrot on the end of a stick. Though well-intentioned, your faith turns out to be, well, it's really nothing more than self-powered sanctification, and it always leads to exhaustion. This dilemma plays out week after week. You go to church already exhausted, having failed at living the Christian life in your own strength the week before. You hear the Word and feel guilty about your disobedience, or you feel nothing at all.  You promise God you will try harder, and some weeks, when you're really serious, your promises will last till Tuesday or Wednesday before you fail again. I just don’t have what it takes, you conclude, and settle into a numb, passionless, *pseudo-Christian experience. (pseudo - not genuine but having the appearance of...) This kind of living is a knife in the heart of Yeshua Christ, who not only died to remove the wrath of God from your life, but also rose again that He might live His life through you. Just imagine if He was to look at your exhausted Christian experience and think, This is it? This is what I rose for? This is the degree to which you are going to draw down upon My resurrection power? This is the extent to which you’ll let Me live My life through you? This is as good as it gets? Why are you trampling on God's grace?  It’s time to make a once-and-for-all decision to be done with the exhausting Christian life. Just as you cannot  experience a regenerate heart (to become Christian) until the grace of God enables your heart to SEE and SAVOR Christ,  you also can’t experience the true Christian life until you come to the end of your own efforts, and rely more on Gods grace -moment by moment with faith- to empower your sanctification and much needed holiness.  We need to recognize we are the problem—we are the reason Christ is not seen in us. And we must stop trying to live in our own strength. Until we let Christ live His life through us, by confessing our depravity and pleading for grace, we will always be exhausted.  If you woke up this morning still believing and trusting in God, it is His grace presently, right now, at work in you. For by grace, are you saved (being rescued) through faith (believing/trusting in Him to consistently rescue you from Rom 7:15-16). Paul understood that.  Now.... Grace be with you, to live Holy, to live like Him where you will find great satisfaction, peace and rest.  The best part of waking up, is the Spirit in your cup!  Robbs Pray with me:  My Father, God of All Grace and Goodness, forgive me for trying to live the Christian life in my own strength. No matter how hard I try, I come away feeling exhausted and defeated. Lord, forgive me for thinking I need Your grace to save me, but I don’t need Your grace to empower and change me. I can’t live in my own strength. I’m at the end of myself, and I need You. I admit the ugliness of sin rest on me daily, and I have a depraved mind. Will You please live Your life through me? Will You gently show me the ways I rely on my own resources and teach me to live for and by and through You? Thank You for raising Yeshua from the dead, not only to give me hope for the next life, but also to give me power for this life. In His powerful life giving name I pray, amen.