Looking For Excuses

1 Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (NIV)

Psalm 37:5 – Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (KJV)

Several times this week, I found myself struggling with my impatience. I have been frustrated, and I find myself being argumentative with others with whom I have no disagreement. I have asked for guidance and patience from God while engaging in this terrible behaviour, and I am truly at my wit's end. I find myself making excuses for my actions and have convinced myself that it has just been a bad week and that everyone will forget when I go back to work on Monday. The person that I know will not forget is God, and I realize I need to ask forgiveness from those I have hurt.

We often find ourselves having a debate over our individual interpretation of "small sins" or "acceptable sins", as opposed to "big sins" or "bad sins". We somehow justify and manipulate ourselves into believing that it is all right to commit a "small sin". We convince ourselves that as long as we aren't harming anyone, who can possibly get hurt? To be quite honest, God can! His heart is shattered when we stray from His Word, but He constantly reminds us that "big" or "small", any sin can be forgiven if we repent.

We must always remember that in our lives, we need God's grace, His wisdom, and His forgiveness. We need to acknowledge that we are nothing and have nothing without His grace.

We have learned through our readings of the Old Testament that Israel forgot this on many occasions, and even though Christians today have started a new relationship with God, it doesn't mean that they won't go back to their old ways of life apart from God. He tells us that if we repent when we have hurt others, we will be forgiven.

Prayer: Oh, gracious God, we know that we occasionally drift away from Your Word and Your wisdom. We want to tell You that we apologize for those moments of weakness when we are guided down an unknown path or tempted to go back to our old way of living apart from You. We know that You are always there, beside us, to forgive us. Amen.

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