Hindrance

I think that one of the things we struggle with as believers is the refusal to set aside those things that are a hindrance to our Christian walk--be it sin or something I've become more attached to, more devoted to, than to Him and His desire for my life. The refusal to confess sin--a choice that takes me one deliberate step farther into the darkness away from Him--hinders my fellowship with the God who is light. I lose all sense of His presence and the joy and peace that that affords me in my daily walk. The refusal to lay aside for His sake something or someone that has become more important to me than He is--my latest idol--reflects my soul's desire to worship me and my wisdom.
The really idiotic thing about these choices is that they are perceived as a matter of freedom--being in control. The exact opposite it true. Romans clearly warns us that the sins in our lives are chains--bondage, not freedom. Giving into them or holding on to them doesn't fulfill my desire and free me from their stranglehold, but instead, such choices create in me a deepening attachment and dependence. Our not being able to give up the thing that the Spirit has shown us is a hindrance to our walk only proves that it is our master and that we are its slave. It has power over us to control our choices. Power that belongs to the Holy Spirit, the person God has given us to lead us into the way that we should go, the way that sets us free. We wonder at the weight of our struggle toward sanctification when we ourselves are the ones forging the chains around our feet. And the solution is so simple. Confess, let go, walk in the light. And it is something we must do every day.
When I agree with God about the sin in my life--that it is indeed sin, or when I agree with God that something, some person, or some idea is keeping me from full devotion to His right to my life, He sets me free to do what ought to be, and needs to be, done. Such a choice will renew my sense of His presence, bathe my walk in the light of His truth, and reflect to others the freedom and joy that comes from pleasing Him daily.