Whatever your struggle, “I am with you” changes the terrain of battle. You start to see the fork in the road. There is a way of life. Your choices count, and you can choose life. A good road runs uphill toward the light, where previously you only knew to stumble over the edge into the abyss.

Identifying Today’s Skirmish

Renewal. The final word in restoring joys to the sexually broken. Our daily renewal has three parts.

First, where is today’s skirmish? Your battle always gets fought at the next step, not all at once. “Today’s trouble” is where you find God’s aid. A clear view of what you face defines your “choice points,” the forks in the road before you. Where are you tempted, now? It might be sexual. But remember that the skirmish is not always about sex. God keeps many issues in view as he works out our sanctification. How are you handling life’s pressures? Are you complaining or anxious? Does self-righteousness make you defensive and judgmental? Are you working too hard or being lazy and escapist? Are you forgetting God? What’s your relationship with money? Whenever you skirmish well in any area, it has ripple effects into every other area of life.

Is darkened sexuality even the prime battleground today? Where is today’s choice point? The current struggle is the place where the Vinedresser is pruning. It’s where you need life support from the Vine. Making all things new is always about something going on today. Restoring pure joys is not theory. It’s what’s happening here and now. It’s not about instant perfection (I hope that’s clear).

And it’s not about yesterday. If you’re still brooding and obsessing over yesterday’s failures, then today’s choice point is “How do you handle failure?” Can you quit curving in on yourself after you fall, and begin to deal with your sins by relying on free mercies? You’ll always need your Father, Savior, and Comforter to help you, forgive you, and teach you. Today’s trouble identifies where.

Finding God in Today’s Trouble

Second, what one thing about God in Christ speaks directly into today’s trouble? Just as we don’t change all at once, so we don’t take in all of truth in one massive Bible transfusion. We are simple people. You can’t remember ten things at once. Invariably, if you could remember just one vital truth in the moment of trial and then seek your God, you’d be different. Bible verses aren’t magic. But God’s words are revelations of God from God for our redemption. When you actually remember God, you do not sin. The only way we ever sin is by suppressing God, by forgetting, by tuning out his voice, switching channels, and listening to other voices. When you actually remember, you actually change. In fact, remembering is the first change.

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