Friday Fight 181: The Crashing Waves of Sin
Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF181.
Do you recall a time at the beach when you attempted to leap over the incoming waves, only to find yourself overwhelmed by their force? This could be a childhood memory where you flailed your arms in desperation or an adult realization that the waves were powerful enough to submerge you. Some young adults in my family learned a profound lesson about battling the persistent waves, fighting for breath, and the sudden shifts in life's tides. How can we apply this analogy to our spiritual journey, surrendering these situations to God?
The Crashing Waves of Sin:
As we go through our everyday lives, most of us can attest to being bombarded with many things. As soon as we get one thing fixed or settled, something else breaks. Last week, I began losing my voice, and I was in Urgent Care getting steroid shots and meds because my throat was so swollen. No big deal, right? What started as an unfortunate inconvenience began to have a rippling effect. Being unable to speak interfered with church and school and caused me to miss a scheduled exam on Monday. My meds were sent to an incorrect, closed pharmacy; my husband missed a game trying to help, and I spent money on my missed exam. Through time in prayer, I understood what God revealed about the parallel to sin and how repeated exposure suffocates us. Psalm 38:4 says, "For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me." We don't have to drown anymore but must look at these patterns.
Thankfully, I will recover, but the sins in our lives are much like this example. Whether personal, familial, or generational, it can start off harmless, yet it is anything but. The sin we think is "no big deal" can cause small ripples in our lives, and before long, these ripples quickly become crashing waves. Yes, the minor waves in the ocean are tolerable. But, we become worn down over time with no break in the wave pattern. Before long, these waves of sin become an overpowering force taking over our lives and the lives of those around us. Maybe we have fears associated with sickness or finances that keep us bound. These ripples could be something we watched as a child that we now do, a parental addiction or domestic abuse that has happened for generations and now continues to show up in our lives in other ways as we cope.
Unaddressed sin within our families sets up generational curses until we acknowledge them. But remember, because of Christ's sacrifice, we have been given the power to address these traumas and then allow Him to break these generational chains of sin. We have the blood of the Lamb to cover our transgressions. As we spend time together, our hearts are searched, and we are shown our repeating consumption patterns of sin.
We can pray at any time and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to our hearts the unaddressed sin that is trying to drown us. This guidance is crucial, whether we know the sin or not. Pray and let God destroy the sin pattern, not allow these wave patterns to overpower us and those around us. Not addressing these patterns means unknowingly pulling those we love into the debilitating waves. Let's look at what is unaddressed in our hearts and allow God's restoration. By His stripes, we are healed!
Pastor Shannon
New Life River Church