Sunday, July 25, 2010

Confused

I am so confused. I do not know what to do, to think, to say. How am I to behave? How am I to respond? All of us at some time or another have expressed these thoughts.

So what does scripture say about confusion? Paul says he struggled with sin and the resulting confusion trying to take control of him. He even says he wanted deliverance from it because it tortured him. Who has not experienced painful struggles with confusion?

“but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:23-24 ESV

My most tumultuous times struggling with confusion have been a result of trying to discern God’s will verses cultural expectations of my community and middle American religious traditions. What is God’s will and what are the human expectations? It is often hard to discern what is right. When I take time to pray through the emotion and to seek God’s will, generally I have been able to proceed with confidence and peace. When I react too fast, often it is a human, culturally trained reaction which does not glorify God.

Throughout the Bible, numerous passages can be found exhorting those who love God to do what is right. Here is a sampling of passages urging us to respond rightly to situations.

“All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:2-3 NIV

“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.” 1 John 3:7-8 NIV

So what is the secret to doing right? Prayer and knowing Scripture. For how can you know what is right in God’s eyes unless you study what he teaches?

Lord, create in me a thirst for studying Scripture. Make discerning how I am to respond in every situation clear because I know what you have commanded. Show me how my behaviors will be sin while they are still in my mind and I have not yet acted. Through the Holy Spirit give me the strength to resist committing sinful acts even if they would be praised by my peers.

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