The Pursuit - 12 WeeksSample

Have you ever wondered why you can’t seem to do the good things you want to do — or stop doing the things you know you shouldn’t? You promise yourself you’ll change, but before long, you fall back into old habits, old attitudes, or old sins. You’re not alone. The Apostle Paul described that same struggle in Romans 7.

Paul was brutally honest about his inner conflict. He wanted to do right, but something inside him kept pulling him in the opposite direction. He called it “sin living in me.” That’s not just a bad influence or poor self-control — it’s a power deep inside every human being that resists God.

If you’ve ever felt that frustration, it’s actually a sign of something good: your conscience is awake. Deep down, you know what’s right and wrong. You feel the tug-of-war between who you are and who you wish you could be. The Bible calls that conviction. It’s not there to shame you; it’s there to wake you up.

That’s the moment grace breaks in. You don’t need to fix yourself before coming to God — you come because you can’t fix yourself. Jesus came to free you from the power of sin and the guilt that comes with it.

Reflection:

Can you relate to Paul’s struggle in this chapter?