Why is it so easy?

Why is it so easy to think my prayers never make it to heaven and God can’t hear me?

Why is it so easy to worry about what others think about me?

Why is it so easy to jump to conclusions without even hearing the other side of the story?

Why is it so easy to believe the worst in myself and never acknowledge the great potential inside me?

Why is it so easy to ignore the plight of so many people less fortunate than me?

Why is it so easy to put my trust in my job as my resource instead of God as my source?

Why is it so easy for me to remember every negative comment someone made about me in high school?

Why is it so easy for satan to make me feel guilty about something I know God already forgave me for?

Why is it so easy to pick out every fault of my spouse even though I realize they are not perfect?

Why is it so easy to fall asleep every time I pick up the Bible to read it?

Why is it so easy to be tempted to go back to the very thing I was delivered from in the past?

Why is it so easy to covet all my neighbor’s stuff even when I see them gain it by living immorally?

Why is it so easy to forget that greater is He that is in me than he that’s in the world?

Why is it so easy to treat perfect strangers with kindness but for the life of me I can’t stop yelling at my kids?

Why is it so easy for me to jump right into road rage and let others make me “go there”?

Why is it so easy to believe my problems are bigger than God’s Power?

Why is it so easy for me to fail to recognize God first thing in the morning?

Why is it so easy to say we want to do the right thing in God’s eyesight yet we do the very opposite?

Why is it so easy?

It’s so easy because our flesh is weak. Paul said it best in Romans 7: 17-23 (the Message) “But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.”

Thank God that’s not the end. We have, through Jesus Christ’s example and Holy Spirit’s empowerment, the ability to put down fleshly, carnal desires and sinful natures. We can make a conscious decision to take off the carnal mind and take on the mind of Christ. It’s not always easy because we realize that God is not going to do the hard work for us, but He will give us the strength to do it thru Him.

In Romans 7: 24 – 8:2 Paul goes on to say, “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.”.

We no longer HAVE to find it easy to do the things which come so naturally to our flesh. We can take on His mind and strive to live in the Spirit everyday. That’s why His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Yes, it is that easy.