Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. – Romans 7:25

Today's Scripture Reading (March 9, 2021): Romans 7

Samuel Johnson that "Nothing … will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome." The truth is that those conditions will never be achieved. We will never have all of the answers that we need to attempt something worthwhile. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't fight against whatever it is that is challenging us and needs to be done.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) knew of what he was speaking. Dr. Johnson struggled with health issues almost from the day he was born. He suffered from childhood tuberculous scrofula, which left him with deep facial scaring, one deaf ear, and one blind eye. Later in life, Johnson suffered from gout and testicular cancer. From reports of his behavior, it seems likely that he suffered from depression and Tourette syndrome.

But health issues were not the end of Dr. Johnson's problems. He also suffered financial hardships and personal failures. Yet, in spite of these challenges, Dr. Samuel Young gained recognition as a skilled and discerning author, displaying his ability as a poet, essayist, biographer, and even as a literary critic. It is not that we just need to push through the obstacles that stand in our way. Yes, there are things that we can do as individuals. We can move through the hindrances of life to a point, but, in the end, we will always come up short.

Paul is struggling. He has been pushing through the obstacles and can find very little for which he can be thankful. The struggle seems to be never-ending. As soon as he clears one obstacle, another raises its ugly head in his path. Paul acknowledges that he feels like he is a slave; in his mind, Paul is a slave to God's Law, but the problem is that he is also a slave to his sinful nature. He is a man who has two masters, and in practice, he knows that he cannot satisfy either. Paul is lost and depressed, and as he looks into his future, he doesn't see that anything is changing. He will fight one struggle after another until, at last, the struggles claim him as their prize. (Dr. Johnson suffered a stroke which left him unable to speak during his final year of life. The struggles that he had fought against throughout his life finally claimed their prize.)

But when Paul lifts his eyes up and sees Jesus. Finally, he has something for which he can be thankful. It is the gospel message. Jesus did not come so that we could have more rules; he came to deliver us from sin and a future that lasts beyond the obstacles of life.

I love Pastor David Guzik's take on this passage and the obstacles that we see in life.

You thought the problem was that you didn't know what to do to save yourself – but the law came as a teacher, taught you what to do and you still couldn't do it. You don't need a teacher, you need a Savior.

You thought the problem was that you weren't motivated enough, but the law came in like a coach to encourage you on to do what you need to do and you still didn't do it. You don't need a coach or a motivational speaker, you need a Savior.

You thought the problem was that you didn't know yourself well enough. But the law came in like a doctor and perfectly diagnosed your sin problem but the law couldn't heal you. You don't need a doctor, you need a Savior (David Guzik).

We don't need the things that we often believe that we have to overcome life's obstacles. We need a Savior. We need Jesus.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 8