Have you ever tried to make yourself go to sleep? I am not talking about casually going to bed when it’s time and falling asleep. I am talking about after a long hard day with the expectation of a busy and intense day to follow, and you know you need to get some sleep now. You lay in bed thinking about tomorrow’s pressures and try to put them aside, because you need sleep now. It is almost impossible to make yourself fall asleep. Just thinking about it keeps you awake.
I had this problem, but in a different way, last night. I had an appointment for a sleep study, where they watch you sleep and use electrodes to monitor breathing, etc. So, at the appointed time I was all hooked up and ready to go. Then all I had to do was fall asleep. I told myself to fall asleep and waited. Nothing happened. So I told myself to sleep once again. Nothing happened. This inward discussion went on for quite some time, until I got bored with the self-talk and fell asleep.
The same sort of thing happens when we try to break a habit, start an exercise routine, or just try to become a better person. We tell ourselves what we need to do and extend the effort, but fail and fail until we get bored and give up entirely once again. Our selfish and self-centered thoughts and desires usually win out over good intentions.
Paul describes how we find success in winning over our selfishness and self-centeredness. In Romans 8:1-4 he wrote, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Paul is saying that before we come to Christ, we are subject to selfishness, doing what our self-centered thoughts tell us to do. We are, therefore, unable to overcome those thoughts to make changes that we feel we should. After coming to Christ, we are given the Spirit, who works within us to free us from selfishness and weaknesses. Then we walk according to the Spirit and not our flesh. The Spirit enables us to make beneficial and righteous changes to our lives.
Reluctant Retiree 