True Deliverance

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
-Romans 12:1-2

Its amazing how God can truly change your life. Being born into sin, there are many things that we need to turn away from in order to live the life God has called us to. We wrestle and fight with these issues, and it seems that we are fighting a losing battle. During this time, it is important to ask God to change our hearts, and our mindset. You see, a lot of times we recognize our actions are contrary to God's Word, but we are reluctant to change because it doesn't feel wrong to us. Or, we feel bad about what we are doing, but we feel like we can't control ourselves. We love God and want to please Him, but our flesh is still holding on. Our lives don't change because we are still behaving destructively.

To be delivered means to be set free; or to hand over, or surrender. When you hand your issues over to the Lord, He will indeed set you free from those issues. He will make it so that you no longer even have the desire to do what you used to do. In fact, when approached with the opportunity to do that thing, you will be able to turn away from it with no problem. That very thing that you used to enjoy will no longer be an issue.

You may have been pleading with God to get rid of your bad habits and desires, and it seems like you are hitting a brick wall. God wants us to make a conscious effort to change, and He will do the rest. That means avoiding people and situations that would compromise your faith. The enemy will tempt you, but you must remember that He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it. God requires us to control our actions on the outside while He does the work on the inside. Over time you will realize just how far you've come.