4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Jesus resisted sin to such a great degree that, in order not to sin, He went to the Cross. He could have chosen sin, but He chose to suffer in our place. There was a recent TV commercial where two dam inspectors are walking beside a dam on an inspection. As they walk the dam springs a leak. The one inspector takes the gum out of his mouth and places it on the leak. Both seem satisfied with the fix and they move on. Of course the dam pops the gum out of place and the leak continues with increased intensity. This is like many of our attempts to deal with sin. We put in the least effort possible to hold off the sin temporarily hoping it will hold until no one is looking. But of course the sin pops up again, each time with greater force than before. The real fix requires drastic measures. In the case of a dam, the water behind the dam would have to be removed, repairs made and then the dam allowed to fill with water again. That is because the water pressure prevents a repair from the dry side of the dam. That constant pushing will find any weakness and exploit it. It is only when you deal with the crack that the problem can be fixed. The pressure has no place to go, so it stays behind the dam. So it is with sin. We must deal with the cracks in our lives, those places where sin has pushed through our barrier. The only way to deal with the sin is to remove the pressure and seal the crack. Removing the pressure involves total repentance before the Lord. When we come clean with Him, then the water that has eroded our being for years is removed. We must then deal with the cracks the sin has left in our lives. This involves accountability with other believers, large doses of the Word, and learning to listen to God’s voice. The accountability with other believers is like the regular safety inspections of the dam. It brings close examination of the structure of your spiritual life to ensure you are not missing weaknesses, blind spots out of your immediate sight. The Word acts like concrete, filling the cracks with the substance of the original design. We were meant to live by the Word of God. Third, we must spend time in prayer which acts like the curing agent in concrete. Prayer solidifies the repairs made by the Word. Where are you leaking today?
The Arnold Journey 