I was stopped at a traffic light the other day, and while I was waiting for my turn to go, I was listening to the radio. I had my truck radio tuned to a Christian station and was enjoying the music when suddenly the song changed to a 1980’s rock and roll song. I was a bit surprised and I checked my radio to see what had happened. Then, as the traffic light changed and the car beside me drove away, I realized what had happened. There is a device called an FM transmitter that will allow you to play your preferred music playlist over a radio frequency rather than on a disc or tape, and you can set it up to an FM frequency of your choosing. Evidently the car beside me had theirs set to the same frequency as the station that I was listening to, and my radio began listening to their songs. I was suddenly listening to Bon Jovi.
I chuckled and thought to myself, “there I was trying to enjoy Christian music and without even trying I am now jamming out to rock music that I listened to as a kid”. I came looking for one thing, and the world offered another. I then realized that sin is like that as well, it sometimes comes in uninvited even when you have different intentions in mind. I was reminded of the passage in Romans chapter 7 where the Apostle Paul struggles with the flesh and the war within himself:
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:24-25)
In many instances we allow sin into our lives, but sometimes it sneaks in and catches us off guard when we were least expecting it. When times like these happen and we are surprised by it, we can be thankful just like the Apostle Paul that God through Jesus Christ has overwhelmingly conquered sin, and He is able to rescue us from its sneaky intrusions. So tune back into the Lord and keep moving on.
Blessings,
Jeff