Colossians 3:5-6 (NET) "So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience."Fola was struggling with persistent afflictions in her body, and she couldn’t understand why they continued. In desperation, she cried to the Lord for help. One Saturday morning, Pastor Clara felt led to visit and pray for Fola. However, before praying, Pastor Clara felt prompted to ask Fola some probing questions. Through their conversation, it became clear that, despite being very active in church, Fola was still living a lifestyle inconsistent with her faith. Her unrepentant sin was the root cause of her affliction.
Convicted, Fola confessed her sins to Pastor Clara. After she prayed for Fola and anointed her with oil, Fola experienced healing, fulfilling the promise in James 5:13-16.
The reason believers are called to "put to death whatever in [their] nature belongs to the earth" is to avoid being partakers of the wrath of God, which is reserved for the sons of disobedience. Many believers suffer unnecessarily because they live in ways that do not reflect their new nature in Christ.
This does not mean that the righteous will never face affliction. The key difference is that the Lord promises to deliver the righteous out of their troubles (Psalm 34:19).
Go into today determined to mortify everything in your life that does not align with the nature of Christ. Ask the Lord to strengthen you for this task and to help you walk in His righteousness.
— Abraham Damilola Arigi