Mastering sin

'Then the Lord said to Cain,

"Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up!

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door,

and its desire is for you, but you must master it."'

Genesis 4.6,7

My anger towards God can never be justified. Never deserved. It is always a result of me not 'doing well', because if i genuinely do well in the sight of the Lord, the result is that my countenance will be lifted. I will not be angry but at peace. Not hopeless but hopeful. My outlook will not be one that only sees the negative, but one that is overawed by the positive. If I do well with God; if I repent, submit and follow, then my entire being will be satisfied.

However, if I do not do well, the consequence is clear. I can either choose to master sin, or it will surely master me. Mastering sin means that I never entertain it for a second. That the moment a thought creeps into my mind that can lead me astray, I take it captive and fix my eyes to my perfecter. It means that I never knowingly or willingly walk into a situation where temptation will surround me. It means that I take every possible measure to ensure that my friends are looking out for me and holding me accountable. Mastering sin requires the combined power of prayer and God's word to fight the lies I will want to believe and to constantly refresh me with a vision of my eternal hope. Mastering sin requires me giving my everything and trusting that with God all things are possible.

For sin to master me requires for me to simply do nothing.

That's all it takes.

It desires to have me, yet I desire to be free from it.

The power of God far outways the power of sin!