4 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.

19 For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.

20 And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

24-25a What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!

— Romans 7:14-15; 19-20; 24-25a

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

— Philippians 4:13

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain.

— 1 Corinthians 15:10a

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

While Paul confessed the struggle between keeping the law and the pull of sin within believers themselves might sound discouraging, he also shows us the recognition of the struggle actually means to free us. Paul also emphatically shows us that struggling with sin doesn’t disqualify us from God‘s love or grace; instead it reminds us of our dependence on Christ. What do we do in the face of the struggle between our powerlessness to keep law and the pull of sin then?

Paul’s answer is profound. We turned to God, acknowledging our weakness and trusting in His strength, grace and power! In Romans 7:24-25, Paul cries out, “what a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This declaration is Paul’s turning point! He recognizes that his own efforts cannot save him. Only Christ is the beautiful paradox. The very struggle we feel is what leads us to deeper reliance on God. Our weakness points us to His strength, our failures to His forgiveness and our need to His grace.