Gospel Alignment: Day Two
Day 2: Where Every Struggle Starts
Devotional
Have you ever noticed that the sins you fight the hardest are rarely about the surface issue? You are not just struggling with anger. You are struggling with control. You are not just struggling with people-pleasing. You are struggling with approval. There is always something underneath. In Galatians 2, the Apostle Peter did not deny Jesus. He simply changed where he sat at dinner. But that small, quiet choice revealed something deep. Peter was adding the approval of certain men to what he already had in Christ. He was living as though God's acceptance was not quite enough on its own. That is the root of every persistent struggle. We add something to Jesus. Approval. Security. Comfort. Control. And the moment we do, a spoke bends. The wobble begins. Here is the encouraging truth: identifying the root is not meant to shame you. It is meant to free you. Because once you see what you are actually reaching for, you can bring it back to the One who already provides it fully.
For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles;
but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party - Galatians 2:12
Reflection Question
What are you adding to Jesus right now, approval, comfort, security, or something else, that is quietly bending a spoke in your life?
"Without exception, every one of our struggles with sin traces back to the same root.
We’re adding something to Jesus that we think we need in addition to Him every time."
- Pastor Mike Mura
Prayer
Lord, show me the root beneath my struggles. Give me the courage to stop reaching for substitutes and the faith to trust that You are truly enough. Amen.