CONVICTED

con·vic·tion

 noun \kən-ˈvik-shən\

Definition of CONVICTION

1

: the act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law

2

a : the act of convincing a person of error or of compellingthe admission of a truth

b : the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth

3

a : a strong persuasion or belief

b : the state of being convinced

Conviction...what is conviction? Well in this case it is me coming to terms with the fact that I am still not quite there. As you may have noticed in some of my previous entries I am a bit hard headed and not exactly quick to obey the urging of the holy spirit. Why? Why is it so hard for me to just hear and obey? What is it that is keeping me from obeying God in EVERYTHING EVERYDAY? Unfortunately the answer is simple. Me. We are all selfish my nature. We are not naturally disposed to being obedient to anything. One of my favorite verses is Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Boy do I relate to that! I feel like time and time again I have faltered. Just look at my past entries!

So what am I supposed to do? How do I overcome this disobedient and defiant streak I have? Again the answer is simple, yet oh so hard. Choose to. That's it, choose to obey, choose to die to myself and follow the lead of the Lord everyday. Consciously make the decision that “not my will but Yours be done”. Mark 14:36. Jesus even commanded Simon in the Garden of Gethsemane “Watch with me and pray lest the tempter overpower you. For though the Spirit is willing, the body is weak.” Mark 14:38. I think that is so applicable today and a warning that should be headed by every Christian. Your self, your flesh, your body, is always going to be more willing to follow evil. It is the product of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden and today more than ever Satan has so many different things to tempt us with. We now live in a world more sinful than ever. We must choose to strengthen our spirit through prayer and the Word of God so that we can choose to obey GOD in EVERYTHING EVERYDAY!

So I am choosing today, before God has to beat it into my head, to obey His urging. I have been convicted of the fact that I am not spending enough time with him. And so for the next little while I am going to set aside the things that are keeping me from him and just focus on my relationship with him. He is calling to me and I want to obey and follow him. I want to dwell in his presence and feel his peace surrounding me. I want to become obedient to his voice so that he can use me fully and completely in all that I do.

What has God convicted you of? What has he been urging you to do? Have you truly chosen to obey him completely or are you still riding that fence between selfishness and righteousness where you can convince yourself that what you want is what God wants for you just because you want it? I lived there for a long time and trust me, it will not get you to where you need to be. Choose God, Choose to Obey!