You Can Have Victory Over Destructive Cycles
For this blog, we’re trying out a new format, using a song and its lyrics to outline ways that Christians can grow in their lives and in their spiritual walks with God. For this first run, we’re taking a look at Cycles by Jonathan McReynolds.
Didn't I conquer this last year?
Tell me what I missed 'cause I fear
That it's coming back up again
One of the difficult parts of attempting to conquer sin in our lives is that it often feels as if we’re making little-to-no progress, especially when it comes to specific things. The seasons shift, but the struggles feel the same. We feel inauthentic, unintentional, beset on all sides.
'Cause if [Satan] has another chance
He feels like he can take
My joy, my peace, my faith
In scriptures, we’re taught that it’s not just our sinful selves that lead to our continual failings...there’s another force at work in the world. Cast out of heaven, Satan is constantly working to undermine God’s truths and make us doubt that He has a plan for us.
See the devil, he learns from your mistakes
Even if you don't
That's how he keeps you in cycles, cycles
Cycles. An endless loop. The feeling of something repeating without any progress. Like a hamster trapped on a wheel, the cycle is a key tool to keep you feeling stuck, stuck in your faith, stuck in your growth.
Ooh, so Lord, help me
Be free from all of my past sin
See, Your love is enough
To make me new
The only way we can change our current place or circumstance is through the power of God, we can’t do it on our own. The first step in changing our mentality is to call upon the name of the Lord and ask that he make us new (think: Revelation 21:5).
See, there is power in the name of Jesus
To break every cycle, to break every cycle
Cycles aren’t necessarily evil, they’re just a continuous motion. And so, through the redemptive work of Jesus and via His love for us, we can begin to switch harmful cycles with helpful cycles, begin to develop continuous motion that keeps us in fellowship with Him. Amen