Do you ever feel as though your life is an endless cycle of one step forward, two steps back, despite your greatest efforts? To be sure, there are stretches when things run smoothly for a while, but then, there inevitably comes a bump in the road that upsets things again.

We're in good company. The Bible contains many stories of people who had a rough time following God, even when they desired to do it. Sometimes, they were strong and fervent in their faith, and then, something would cause them to stumble in disgrace.

Adam and Eve, coming straight from the hand of God, couldn't blame their downfall on poor parenting or bad role models. Yet, how quickly they fell into disobedience of God's direct command to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God said of King David, the mightiest king of Israel and forebear of the Messiah, "I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart." (Acts 13:22b NLT) Yet, he stumbled mightily in his sin with Bathsheba.

Even the entire nation of Israel, God's chosen, covenant people, seemed to be in a constant state of flux. Falling into a state of apostasy and disobedience, they would feel the sting of God's discipline, yet He promised repeatedly throughout their history to bless them bountifully if they would repent and return to His ways.

We can almost see the great apostle Paul wringing his hands in despair as he laments, "I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway." (Romans 7:18b-19 NLT)

I know that I, too, can be consistently inconsistent in my daily choices and actions. This constant swinging in the wind, going from sin to obedience, right to wrong, good to bad, seems to be a hopeless state. We know that even when we turn our lives over to God, we still can't live a sinless life.

Yet, there is hope. Paul tells us:

Romans 8:2 – And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. (NLT)

We have the power of God to rely on, and it is far greater than our own strength — or that of Satan.

When we feel discouraged by our own inconsistency and failures, let's be heartened by the fact that we have God's help to carry us through. Sincere repentance is necessary when we sin, but how encouraging it is, then, to know that we can turn away from sin and continue on as we faithfully seek to follow in His ways.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, You know our weaknesses and failures. How thankful we are that You forgive us when we confess our sin, and You give us strength to continue on in our life's journey. Amen.