Deep Conviction
When something I’m doing feels a bit “off”, I should pay attention and investigate. There are times when I veer off the path that the Lord has for me. I know what the right thing to do is, but I choose to do something different.
I can so identify with the Apostle Paul when he wrote to the church in Rome about his personal struggle with sin. It helps to talk about the struggle with the Lord and with Godly counsel. I sometimes feel what Paul is feeling. Check this out…
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:18-25 NLT)
When I make choices of how to live when I’m talking with the Lord, it’s easier to lean into my deep convictions later when the pressure is on. I’ve also learned the value of steering clear of situations where my convictions will be challenged or attacked.
Ezra, the prophet had returned from captivity to Jerusalem. He was helping to organize the building of the wall by the other exiles. He learned of the wide-spread sin of his exiled brothers and sisters and his heart is broken. He prayed a deep prayer of confession. The people were moved by his example of confession. Check this out….
1While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him. (Ezra 10:1 NLT)
Out of Ezra’s confession because of conviction, the people’s hearts were moved. They realized the gravity of their sin. The deep conviction of Ezra led the people to examine their hearts and their choices.
Deep conviction can lead to honest confession.
Detailed confession can help set my convictions in concrete.
I want the Lord’s helps setting my convictions in concrete.
I need help from the Lord to walk in obedience before Him and live by my deep convictions that he’s called me to live out of. These deep convictions come out of my journey with Jesus as Lord over all of my life. The Lord has freed me from the bondage of sin and helped restore my convictions (aka boundaries) to their proper place. I want to glorify the Lord in how I live and the choices I make each day.
Pressing On!
Dwayne