I was brought low and He saved me

by: carole l haines

⁵ Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate.
⁶ The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
(Psalm 116 NASB)

Give me an AMEN if you can relate to this.  Have you been there?  Have you been in that low place, with no way out, but to look up and find Him Faithful?  Truly, I was brought low and He saved me.  What brought me low?  Well, quite frankly, my own pride, thinking that I knew best, or better than God or others. You know, one of the sneakiest sins to deal with is being judgmental and self-righteous.  These two sins have been tricky, little buggers to root out of my life.  They are like getting rid of pesky bugs, like ants or stink-bugs.  Once they are in your house, you have to work to find the point of entry and destroy them at the source.  All sin has to be pulled out by the root.  You can’t just pull off the top growth, nope, you’ve got to get it all.  Look at what James says about it:

¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (James 1 NASB)

This is a step by step unraveling of the mystery of sin.

1)     God doesn’t ever tempt people. God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

2)     People are enticed and carried away by their own lust. It’s already inside of you, the tendency to sin.

3)     When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin.

4)     And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Now this breakdown tells me that I have approximately, 2-3 chances to refuse any sin.  Sin comes out of what I am already thinking about, my own thoughts, inclinations and desires.  These are the root.  If I want to be free of sin’s grip, through faith in Jesus and His Power to deliver;  I have to open up to God and let Him reveal the roots to me.  Then I can confess and repent of those inclinations.  Often we try to deal with the behavior, which is only like pulling off the top of the plant.  When we do it this way, the roots of sin are still there, and it grows back.  I have asked God to reveal all that is in me, that is not of Him.  This is arduous and difficult, but O, so very refreshing and freeing at the same time.  I have never felt so worn out, and yet so unburdened and light.  This journey of purity will continue for me until the day I leave this earth and go to be with Him. 

O Yes, I have been brought low, and so have we all, but cry out to Him and He will come and save you, and purify your heart.
 ⁷ Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
⁸ For You have rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
⁹ I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living.  (Psalm 116 NASB)