We do believe the most preposterous things about ourselves at times: how the demons lie to us! I think it has something to do with out sense of helplessness - our inability to control or change ourselves as much as we would like. We fall for self-deception traps again and again ... Why do humans have such problems with objectivity? We either exalt or depreciate ourselves - we either install ourselves on thrones or mutilate ourselves in self-disgust. But is one any bettr or worse than the other? Yet we do it all the same. Why? Because we are measuring wrongly. Indeed, I wonder if we even possess the ability to measure at all.
I've thought about the lessons of Romans 4 and the three aspects of true faith: (a) focussing on Yahweh's power; (b) recognising our weakness; and (c) believing His promises. This is the trinity of core faith principles - what follows (like obedience) is always secondary. When we can trust His promises without evidence of a visible nature we are well on the way to living objective lives of faith, since He is the object, not us.
We are declared righteous in Yahweh's sight by belief (faith, trusting), so obviously right faith means everything (Rom.5:1) - then we have peace with Yahweh through Yah'shua (Jesus). Then we can rejoice when difficulties come (v.2) because we know we have no need to lean on our own strength.
Weakness is not a shameful thing because it is recognition that we are not God. Exalting in weakness without relying on Yahweh is, of course, folly - you can't trust a vacuum. We are declared right by the blood of Yah'shua which we did not earn (v.9). We are saved by His life, not our own living (v.10).
As Romans 7 teaches, we were formerly married to sin, the law of sin, the principle of sin-doing by the Law of the Ruach (Spirit), for the Law of Yahweh is spiritual (Rom.7:14):
"With the mind I myself truly serve the Torah (Law) of Elohim (God), but with the flesh the law of sin" (Rom.7:25, ISRV).
Our dilemma - our dichotomy.
So long as we walk in the Ruach (Spirit) and not the flesh, we are not condemned, because the Torah of the Ruach of the life in Messiah Yah'shua has set us free from the law of sin and death (v.2).
"You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Ruach of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, father'. The Ruach Herself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of Elohim" (Rom.8:15-16, ISRV).
We become detatched from spiritual life and security the moment we start trusting in our own abilities or inabilities to accomplish. This is where we go wrong. The power of Yahweh cannot work in us so long as we trust our own.
So, here we are again. It is so easy to fall into the flesh trap, but becomes easier not to, by constant affirmation of the Truth (Emet). When we are physically ill and weak we tend to more easily fall, seeing this as a sign that we are out of divine favour. A common mistake. Job nearly made it. But it is in our weakness that Yahweh can do miracles provided we maintain a right faith.
(From the Diary of Lev-Tsiyon, 21 October 2003, England)
