Subduing bad habits is no easy task, but help is available

Aug 14, 2022 News

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My Testimony

By Sharmain Grainger

Kaieteur News – I didn’t expect it to be easy but I’m daily realising that crucifying self (subduing bad habits) is one of the hardest things to do. Of course, there are some habits, once you come to know Christ Jesus, that you immediately recognise you need divine help to overcome. But there are some others so subtle that you don’t even see them as problems until they flare-up to such alarming proportions that you become ashamed to even call yourself a Christian.

During the past week, I fought one of my biggest battles as a Christian, but simultaneously, a plethora of defeats kept waiting to hijack me. They came in the form of situations that triggered angry outbursts – a problem that I didn’t realise I had until they occur two days in succession.

A valuable lesson that I learnt last week was that anger, though it has its place sometimes, must never be an emotion that is nurtured and kept at the ready when dealing with people, especially when your desire is to live a life pleasing in God’s sight.

Although it has been far too easy for me to assault some people with my words, I am nevertheless heartened by the fact that I no longer have a desire to let my rage fester. I am eager these days to clear the slate with anyone who I offend, even if my outburst can be easily justified.

But recognising the problem and apologising, I realised too, are not remotely the solution.

However, on Friday last, I found the solution in the bible. While it is something, I’ve known for quite some time, for some reason I’d never really considered how it could be applied to my life before. It came to me after I prayerfully asked God to help me to overcome this specific shortcoming.

The bible, I have learnt, is the manual for life, so whenever I encounter a problem these days, I look for the solution in the bible. The solution that I found is nestled in the book of Galatians 5:22 – 25: “²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

In much the way I’d sought divine help to overcome other struggles, I must do the same to see the fruit of the Spirit begin to yield abundantly in my life. And of course, once the fruit of the Spirit is manifested in my life, the opposing traits, such as anger, will eventually have no place in my life.

Oh, how I pray for the day when I manifest all the qualities that constitutes the fruit of the Spirit.

I am so thankful though that I do not have to depend on my own strength to be a better version of myself for “The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer. My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” ~ Psalms 18:2

Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, I am a work in progress, eager to be transformed daily since I am tired of being “wretched” – a term Paul the Apostle used in Romans 7:24 to describe the struggle with sin.

I truly don’t know if I will have another outburst tomorrow, next week, next month or a year from now, but what I do know, I am determined to be an overcomer who will hold on to the very end. Even if I slip and fall every day during the next week, which I refuse to accept even now, I     will get right up back and keep on aspiring to remain on the path of righteousness for I know it is worth it.

Practice, as they say, makes perfect and just as 1Corinthians 9:25 underscores that “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training,” merely “to get a crown that will not last,” I will press on to acquire a crown that will last forever.  Philippians 3:14 of the bible (the amplified version) sums up this ambitious goal quite nicely: “¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.”

Regardless of how many times you stumble, always remember that once your heart’s desire is the higher calling, you will never be alone and there will be grace available to help you weather any storm, even the especially annoying ones that seem bent on rendering you a complete failure.

It wasn’t by chance that God sent His son to die for our sins. He already knew that the struggles that we, mere mortals, must endure in this life can sometimes be absolutely unbearable thus we needed a supreme being to secure the, much needed, victory in advance so that we can have the unfair advantage of being triumphant regardless of what we are faced with.

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ~ 1Corinthians 15:57

Once you have a repentant heart, God can’t help but give you the grace to persevere. This doesn’t mean that the process gets easier, because I’ve personally experienced some really tough days immediately after some victorious ones, but when I consider where God has brought me from, I am humbled. As I have shared in earlier testimonies, my life was a colossal mess in many ways but despite that He salvaged me, and gave me a new lease on life.  In recognising what he did for me, I must deliberately strive to be more mindful of how I treat others for we are all God’s creation and He loves us unconditionally. So, I hereby endeavour to live the fruit of the Spirit but “…Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” ~ Zechariah 4:6

(If you have an enlightening experience or comment to share, email me @ sharmain_grainger@yahoo.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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