A lot of Christians have a tendency to think that --- even though it was God’s Grace and Mercy that saved us --- now that we are saved, it’s all up to us to get on with the business of struggling to “live the Christian life” on our own power. We rev up our own dedication, will power, grit, and determination.
Endless UPS and DOWNS are the inevitable result of something within ourselves. They are the natural result of Christians living a SELF-FOCUSED life.
Which reminds me of the old movie from the 80’s – Karate Kid. The famous line is when Mr. Miyagi is training the young Daniel in Karate by having him paint fences and wax cars (wax on wax off) and he says, Focus, Daniel-san. Focus. That’s what we need to do when our Christian life gets off track – Focus Daniel-san, Focus.
But we DON’T need to focus on ourselves and our own will power. We don’t need to lift ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We don’t need to follow that old saying, “God he’ps them who he’ps themselves.” By the way, that’s NOT from the Bible (Poor Richard’s Almanac).
In fact, the Bible gives the opposite advice --- Look at what the Apostle Paul said in Galatians chapter 3: I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Galatians 3:2-3