"Bogged Down"

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." Romans 8:12

Have you ever been "bogged down"? The term means to "be stuck"; "cause to slow down"; "grind to a halt.". Years ago we lived on a creek so we spent a lot of time enjoying the sand bar and water. At times you could be walking along on the sand and all of a sudden you would step onto a soft place and bog down- we called these soft spots "quick sand". Once you got in one you would sink to your knees. Getting out was very difficult, especially if it was a large area. You would have to try to pull your leg out and try to make a step with your other leg, and usually it would bog down too. You would have to keep trying to make steps, one after the other, until you could finally get back on solid ground.

There are several things that can bog you down physically- mud, quick sand, snow. People can get "bogged down" in their thoughts and in their emotions. You can also get bogged down by pressures on your job- added work when you haven't finished the first assignment.

There is another area of being "bogged down" that I want to discuss this morning. It is something that will bog you down spiritually to keep you from advancing in victory, in knowing God's purpose for your life and in fulfilling your destiny. It's your own flesh. Your flesh is like a "boggy" place. It wants to suck you in and get you stuck so that you can't move or go anywhere in your walk and relationship with the Lord.

The more time you spend catering to your flesh, the more time you spend giving into its wants and desires, the more time you spend entertaining it, the more time you spend feeding its appetites, lusts and desires... the more "bogged down" you will become. It is like that quick sand that I described earlier. It will get a strong hold on you and won't let you go- you'll be stuck! And you will have to struggle and work hard to get yourself out. (And believe me, the flesh doesn't let go easily.) The only way that it will let go of its hold is through death. The flesh has to die.

Are you wondering why you feel like you aren't making any progress? Do you feel like you aren't going anywhere and wonder why you are at a stand still? Are you struggling but not advancing? Perhaps it is your flesh that is bogging you down? I described above what we would have to do to get free from the areas of quick sand. To get ourselves free from the flesh that has caused us to get stuck/bogged down is by denying it. The more we deny our flesh, the more freedom from it we have. The more freedom we have from it, the less power it has over us. The less power it has over us, the harder it is to get bogged down. The harder it becomes to get bogged down by the flesh, the easier it is to live in the spirit.

Have a great day. Is your flesh bogging you down? Then get unstuck by denying it, crucifying it and yielding to the Spirit.

For further reading:
Romans 8:13; 6:6,7
Galatians 2:20; 5:16,17,25