Most of us hide our soul struggles inside a closet within our hearts. We do our best to keep them there, so that they will remain unseen by others. For some, these are “big” items like sexual obsessions, addictions, depression, pornography and violent thoughts. For many of us, this closet houses smaller, but no less troubling things like worry, doubt and ill will.

We discussed why it is that we do things even when we KNOW they are wrong. Our answers included the following: the immediate situation takes priority over a previous promise; we’ve not dealt with the core nature of an addiction; we fall into habits that are hard to break; and the immediate satisfaction of the “wrong” thing outweighs the long-term pitfall of it . . . or so we think.

In Romans 7:15-24, Paul pours this whole issue of doing what we do not want to do into the bucket of “sin.” And then he laments, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death?” To his relief and ours, Paul gives us the answer in Romans 7:25 - “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” We really do have a resource of power within our spirit that goes beyond our mind and emotions. Christ has promised to give us His help via His indwelling Holy Spirit. His Spirit shows us options for doing good and for breaking self-destructive patterns. I believe He also helps empower our decisions to DO good when we struggle against the things hidden inside our heart’s inner closet.

But wait - there’s more! Very often, when we are attempting to overcome our personal struggles, we stumble. In Romans 8:1, Paul assures us: “Therefore, there is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In other words, we shouldn’t be living in fear that when we stumble (yes, WHEN we stumble), we’re doomed to failure. Lightning is not going to strike us; nor will God thrust some disciplinary retribution against us. Christ will aid us, not thump us. As Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, when all was said and done (John 8:1-11), “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, sin no more.”

May we always be quick to ask Christ for His help with our inner struggles. When we stumble, may we also be quick to receive His forgiveness and His encouragement to try again.