The Reason

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible
(Ephesians 5:13 – ESV)

There is a reason you aren’t seeing the fruit of the Spirit more manifest in your life. There is a reason you aren’t going deeper with God. There is a reason your ministry isn’t what you think it ought to be. You know the reason; it is because you won’t let go of that thing, you know what “thing” I am talking about, don’t you? You have asked God time and again to remove the desire for that thing, and yet you still want it. You can’t shake it, and because of that you can’t make it to where you want to go. You have that secret sin, and its no secret that it is keeping you from greater things. Even after much prayer, God has not delivered you. Why?

The reason God allows you to continue in that secret sin or so called “nasty habit” is because of the greater problem of pride. That is the real “thing” you need to let go of, not the other thing you only want rid of. In other words, if you were to be free from that secret or habitual thing you would be proud about it, and not have holiness with humility. You feel like or know indeed that you cannot move forward because you have this secret sin, and that is why you want rid of it. You know if people found out they wouldn’t let you get ahead or would put you down from where you already are. But the truth is that God isn’t going to let you get ahead as long as you have your pride, which is why you are saddled with this sin.

You want rid of it for the wrong reason, and that is the reason you aren’t rid of it. You are to put off the old man, which is what you think you want and are trying to do by wanting and trying to be rid of this sin. However, in truth you only want to put off part of the old man, and the part that gives life to that secret sin, the pride, it is the thing you don’t want to put off. You cannot put the secret sin off without putting off the pride, which is also a sin, a secret sin, but not to God. Don’t try and reason your way out of it, it is the reason you stay stuck in the mud of mediocrity.