"Notwithstanding"

"Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease." (Psalms 85:4) In spite of all that God has done for us, there are still plenty of distractions that cause us to fall short, wander off the path, or even return to old habits. Obviously it is not going to be up to us, no matter how much we might think that it is, we just don't have it in us to get the job done. It's not so much as there being a fine line, because there really isn't; the contrast between good and evil are nowhere close to each one another. That said, the distance between the two are milliseconds apart from each other in our hearts. We can be full-on for Jesus, doing perfectly well in our walk, and just like that, we could blow it. Not that we ever intended to make a mistake, but the flesh is always willing to indulge itself, if we give it the chance. This is what I believe Paul was getting at in Romans 7:14-25, in that we cannot do what we are called to do, or be the person God has purposed us to be, unless we are walking in the Spirit. There are two ways to look at Psalms 103:12, which says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." East and west can be worlds apart from each other; but they can also be just a step away, depending which way you are headed. It is those times when it is not in our power to turn ourselves, that we must cry out for God to turn us back to Him. We can't do it on our own, and the more we think that we can, the further we get from the right direction. That is pretty much the message of the Gospel, it's not in us to save ourselves, it's not by our own strength that we are saved, and we cannot do it on our own; but God has already done everything for us, and we just need to accept all that He has done, and we need to abide in Jesus. In Jesus we are safe and secure, outside of Jesus, we are lost and afraid; so in that sense, I guess you could consider that as being a fine line, but it's a line that is drawn by us...
""Sing, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, you who have never been in labor. For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband," says the LORD. "Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense! For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities. Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don't be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood. For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven's Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. For the LORD has called you back from your grief -as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband," says your God. "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back. In a burst of anger I turned my face for a little while. But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer." (Isaiah 54:1-8) NLT