FREEDOM FROM HURTS, HABITS AND HANG-UPS


Since the beginning of time men and women have searched for true happiness – usually in all the wrong places, doing all the wrong things.

Jesus gives us eight keys to happiness in the sermon of the mount. Let’s have a look at the first one, Matthew 5:3 (AMP) Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!

Do you ever do any of the following things?
o Do you ever stay up late when you know you need sleep?
o Do you ever eat or drink more calories than your body needs?
o Do you ever feel you need to exercise but don’t?
o Do you ever know the right thing to do but don’t do it?
o Do you ever know something is wrong but do it anyway?
o Have you ever known you should be unselfish but were selfish instead?
o Have you ever tried to control somebody and found them uncontrollable?

Admitting the truth that we are spiritually poor – or powerless to control our tendency to do wrong – leads us to happiness and to the cure we so desperately need.

The cause of our problems is our sin nature! The Bible tells us that this sin nature gets us into all kinds of problems, Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

The cure for our problems come in a strange form: it comes through admitting weakness and through a humble heart.

The Bible says by admitting weakness I actually find strength, 2 Corinthians 12:10b (Message) … I just let Christ take over! and so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. This in not a popular idea in our self-sufficient society but the Bible says, knowing that you are spiritually poor, will make you happy.

The second part of our cure is having a humble heart. God cannot work change in us if our hearts are filled with pride. James 4:6 (NKJV) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists (opposes) the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

God’s grace has the power to heal us, enabling us to change. Our pride continues to insist that we can do it alone. Some of us may still be thinking “I can do this on my own” No you can’t.

What needs changing in your life? What hurt or habit or hang-up have you been trying to ignore?

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