"The Will To Succeed" -2

"Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." (Hebrews 12:4) In light of all that I know about the Lord, you would think that I could be better prepared when things do not go my way; or at least when things have that impression. But regardless of how things may appear, we that are His children have something which the world does not know, nor can they understand what it is that makes us tick; we have the Love of God within our hearts. And yet we continue to be drawn away from that which we have been given by the things of this world; sometimes not even caring for or about these things that draw us towards them, we are still taken hold of by pride, based upon stature and our reputation. Jacob comes to mind as I think of this, for he wrestled against God all night long, while his brother approached the camp with 400 men, and he believed in his heart that his brother was coming to destroy him; only to find out that his brother was actually coming to greet him and comfort his heart. By the end of the night, the Lord had touched Jacob's side, causing his hip to become dislocated as they wrestled; giving Jacob a new name, which was Israel, meaning "striver with God". Here is something to be reckoned with: to strive together with God; something that is altogether different than to strive against God, which is what we do in rebellion and sin; but to strive together with God, is to labour with God in the work that He is doing, whether in us or in ministry. This is what this Love that we have been given is all about, in that we are in love with Him that first loved us, which makes there be a unity in the affections of the things that He loves; causing us to not desire those things that He hates. It is therefore within our power to have the will to succeed, but that will which we have is based upon His love; and the love that we share in, is based upon the love that He demonstrated to us on the cross; a love that can not be denied, nor equaled by any other. Have you resisted unto blood against sin? Have you yet hated your sin so bad, that you have become sick over it? God will take any sin that we are struggling with out of our way, but we must first hate the sin, in order to have the will to have it removed. Once we can come to the point of hating our sin, then we will no longer be striving against God, but will be striving with God in an effort to be done with it, once and for all...