Galatians 5:17 English Standard Version (ESV) For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Willful sin is the equivalent of not taking your medicine prescribed by Christ for our sin sickness.

The issue here is what we want to do. We did what we wanted in our past lives which placed us in a position to need Christ. Now that we have Christ we must not act as if we do not need Him.

Psalm 147:13 English Standard Version (ESV) For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.

Philippians 4:13 English Standard Version (ESV) I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We will find His help in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We must not leave one kind of medicine in the cabinet just because we do not like the taste of it.

Romans 8:28 English Standard Version (ESV) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[a] for those who are called according to his purpose.

Footnotes [a] Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good

Whichever way you prefer to take it, our medicine is meant for good. What we should focus on is the love we have for God. When we were young our mothers gave us medicine and we took it because we trusted her. It is not that much different with God. If we love Him we must trust Him.

Isaiah 46:10 English Standard Version (ESV) declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

Do we have to understand how this works to believe it does work? Does our lack of understanding hinder our belief? Does unbelief hinder our trust? Does lack of trust hinder our ability to do what is asked of us?

Faith answers all those questions for us.

Walking by faith does not need to know purpose. It only requires us to trust what God has built up in us. Did the medicine work? Did it accomplish His will by taking it with faith?

Genesis 49:6 English Standard Version (ESV) Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.

While some might not connect that last post with this verse, the Lord has connected the life in Christ with living in the world with the issue of the hamstrung ox.

Oxen are service animals. We serve the Lord. In this example we are the ox.

Hamstrung is a process of crippling the ox. Willfulness hamstrings us. That is willfulness in the living world, not the life in Christ. The desires of the flesh oppose the spirit according to Galatians 5:17 and the spirit opposes the flesh. The desires of the flesh are sins.

Our sins hamstring us in living as servants for Christ. This cripples our walk with Christ. This keeps us from keeping up with Christ. If we do not keep an appointment Christ will choose another servant to enact His will.

Because Christ is the good and perfect physician He will heal us of this cut if we will come to Him with the self-inflicted wound. Sin is our self-inflicted wound that hamstrings our walk with Christ.

This is how we get healed from our self-inflicted wounds. We make an appointment with our Good Physician by repentance and keep that appointment by confession. We are then healed by forgiveness. As always, the doctor’s orders for future care is “Stop doing that to yourself.”

What happens when we do not follow the Doctor’s orders?

He writes us a prescription for our lack of self control. It is called chastening. Like a doctor the first dose is administered in the office. That chastening has a lasting effect after we leave His office and return to the world.

If we don’t take our medicine we will only get sicker.