Why do we still struggle with sin?

Many times in the Old Testament, God tells Moses that he is giving the Israelites a land for their possession. However, twice he warns them that their inheritance will not be immediate - that it will take time. In Exodus 23:29-30 he says,

"I will not drive [the inhabitants of the land] out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possessed the land."

And again, in Deuteronomy 7:22,

"The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you."

This may seem like an unimportant detail in God's plan to bless the Israelites. At first glance, it - like a lot of the Old Testament - doesn't seem applicable to us today. But with a second glance, and perhaps some interpretive license, it may hit closer to home than we might realize.

Looking at the Old Testament story as an outsider, God's plan makes a lot of sense. The Israelites were too small to possess the land in its entirety, and they wouldn't have been able to keep the wild beasts at bay on their own. While God was more than able to clear the land in one fell swoop, he chose not to for the good of his chosen people. But imagine what it must have been like for the Israelites. They knew how powerful their God was, and knew what he was capable of. And yet here they're told that they have to spend years fighting battle after battle, slowly defeating one city at a time, slowly increasing in number, until they could receive their full inheritance. When God promised them their own land, I'm sure they didn't expect it to be so much work. After all, when God promises something, that means he will instantly provide it without any effort from us, right? I'm not saying he can't do that, but I don't believe he will the majority of the time. He's a good Father - he knows what's best for his children.

When we become Christians, God promises us salvation, and that is a free gift that we don't have to work for. However, the transformation that takes place within us doesn't come instantly or naturally - it takes work. God promises that "the old is gone and the new has come," but that doesn't mean that he snaps his fingers and makes us perfect.

In the story of the Israelites, he chose not to give them the land all at once because the wild beasts would take over. The term "wild beasts" generally refers to the animals that naturally inhabit the land. As humans, what is most natural to us? Pride. Arrogance. We so quickly and instinctually take credit for everything good, and discredit anything bad.

If God gave us instant victory over our enemies (the sin in our life, or even things like depression or other trials), we wouldn't praise him. We would praise ourselves for making such a big turnaround so fast! We would think, "I must be the greatest of all Christians, to have overcome my imperfections so completely." Or even, "God must love me more than everyone else." We would put ourselves on a pedestal, especially above non-Christians, hailing our perfection and pretentiously pitying the desperate condition of the unsaved soul. Even now, in our imperfection, we can be tempted to take this view of our lost brothers and sisters.

Overcoming our sin nature is a process. It's slow and arduous, fighting one battle at a time, making almost unnoticeable progress. But the struggle makes the victories that much more beautiful. And the constant reminder of how broken we are makes it impossible to even consider that we're victorious in our own strength, or that our good comes from us. God helps us triumph over our imperfections little by little as we learn to increase in his power and his strength. Weakness reminds us of who is really in control, and what a comforting reminder that is!

"Three times I begged the Lord for it to leave me, but his reply has been, 'My grace is enough for you: for where there is weakness, my power is shown the more completely.' Therefore, I have cheerfully made up my mind to be proud of my weaknesses, because they mean a deeper experience of the power of Christ. I can even enjoy weaknesses, insults, privations, persecutions and difficulties for Christ's sake. For my weakness makes me strong in him." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (Phillips)