For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Rom. 7:18)
Expanded Passage: Romans 7:16-19
Good intentions are good, but they are not sufficient. Intending to take a friend to dinner or to choose a birthday gift for a parent starts with a worthwhile goal, but without execution, intentions fizzle into incomplete actions. What else is needed? Strength.
I recently suffered a pinched nerve. The burning, aching, stinging pain radiated from my upper back down my arm, sapping all strength in my arm and chest. Basic movements became impossible. Just a few days earlier, my good intentions could have been acted upon with ease, but now I was powerless to do the good I wanted to do.
The pinched nerve experience tells only part of Paul’s story. In addition to the weakness to do good, Paul says there is strength to do wrong; a strength that activates what Paul calls the sinful nature. With my pinched nerve, I needed to find a new way to do things. Specifically, I was forced to ask for help. According to Paul, the situation of having a sinful nature is even more dire. We don’t just need help; we need rescue. While spiritual weakness is not to be the normal Christian life, these times might be used by God to remind us not only of the help we’ve received, but of the rescue Christ has provided.
When you feel weak, testify to Christ’s strength!
Aaron Perry serves as director of Wesleyan academic initiatives for Education and Clergy Development of The Wesleyan Church.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
