O Wretched Man That I Am!

O Wretched Man That I Am!

O wretched man that I am—who have a flesh in which nothing good dwells, and who, in spite of the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s clear and strong light, and in spite of my longing for it, am incapable of preventing myself from doing things which, when later seen in a clearer light, I must hate and put to death. Yes, O wretched man that I am—who, in spite of great light and much knowledge from God still do not know what I am doing in all areas, with the result that I commit imperfect and foolish deeds of all kinds that I most certainly would not have committed if I had been aware of them beforehand.

O wretched man that I am—who, in spite of having been set free, of having victory and partaking of the mind of Christ and the very nature of God, nevertheless have indwelling sin which I can neither fully control nor prevent from being manifested because I do not possess perfect light in any area.

O wretched man that I am!—who never know the best way of tackling a matter, who never know the best way of answering or asking, who never know how to treat each individual soul in the best way. O wretched man that I am!—who always have good reason to be hesitant and who always do something that I have reason to hate!

Yes, I am a wretched creature who, in spite of all victory, is incapable of doing anything at all just the way I would like to do it.