BECAUSE I CAN

I have an admission to make. I was crabby today. Downright BUCKY! I must have looked like a man who had swallowed gasoline today. I felt as ifI looked like that. Ever have one of those days?

For me, last week was the worst, on the jobsite I am entrenched in. There were days I found myself using four letter words inside of my mind quite a bit. I felt guilty about that, and the harder I tried not to do it, the worse it became. Last week was a graceless week for me. Today was sort of a return to that, except for one thing, today I had some semblance of peace in my heart. Not sure how that works, being crabby and partially at peace anyway. Maybe it means I am not going to be so hard on myself for having a bad day.

Circumstances be damned, life is still good!!!

I did realize later on in the afternoon that I didn’t have to fall to this mood. How did I realize that? Because by disciplining and “buffeting” my body these last weeks, I have begun to be the master of my flesh. In other words, the choice I have to make is now a real choice, with real power behind me, all because I believe Jesus gave me the ability to do that through His blood.

For me, discipline has not been nearly as much about hard work, as it has been about believing the truth. In one area of my life for example, this “diet” I am on, I have repeatedly been able to slap away temptations. Now understand, diets to me are not all that important. I don’t go for the “if I eat right, I’ll live longer” bs. My normal fare would be a steak, a potato, and whatever else I wanted to eat, like Peanut Butter Cups. I count all food as good for me, and I refuse to worry about length of life because of the foods I eat. To me, it’s just ridiculous to be so worried about that.

For someone else, it might not be ridiculous. Instead, it might be important. But in this area, the food area, I eat what I want to eat, because I can. And with this diet, I am losing weight and my foot is feeling better, because I can. Do you HEAR that body!!!? BECAUSE I CAN!!

For years, my flesh has told me “you can’t do this, and you can’t do that”. Lies, all of them. My flesh would have me be enslaved to it for the rest of my life. Well, that is where the discipline comes in, not because I have to, but because I can, because of Christ. It’s far more of a faith issue for me, than a work issue. The work follows whatever I tell my flesh to do, and I don’t worry that the work is important.

Maybe it is important, but what drives me is freedom, freedom from living in slavery to something that is dead, namely my flesh.

Today, I was crabby. I don’t even know why. Today is over, and crabbiness is gone, because I can. Because I can. Because I can.

You can too, and it doesn’t have to be legalism. It does have to be faith, though, or it will turn into legalism.