Wretched man that I am!

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Romans 7:24

“Wretched” is just not a word that gets a lot of common use these days. The meaning of the word in the original Greek is something like “miserable due to suffering by trial”. It is a feeling of joyless misery, mixed with despair and pain. It isn’t a happy word. It is the proper feeling to have about our struggles with sin.

But honestly, do my struggles with sin leave me feeling strongly wretched? Usually they don’t if I am honest. No… quite the opposite is where my heart goes… I entertain longing thoughts about sins. I may dwell on sinful aspirations, clinging to them idolatrously. I may treasure iniquity by means of human moral logic. I rank my sin with thoughts like: “This isn’t as bad as I could be.” “It isn’t like I will be arrested for this.” “Nobody will be hurt.” Meanwhile my heart secretly schemes with delight: “This person was inconsiderate… I will ignore them.” “You hurt me, I’ll hurt you.” “I’m tired of being ignored… this should get me some attention.” “Nobody will know if I do this… I deserve it… It will stay hidden… after all, it makes me happy and that is good for my mental health.” And the wretched list of my heart’s duplicity goes on and on.

The fact that I do battle with sin means that I too, like Paul, am a wretched man. I too have a deadly problem with sin. I too need deliverance from this body of death. There is only one hope for this wretched man.

Condemned by the presence of sin in me, I must look to my righteous Savior. I must accept what only Jesus provides. I must put off these wretched thoughts and attitudes, plans and schemes, and see myself remade and repurposed with the righteousness of Christ. Life in Him, led by His Spirit, informed by His truth, and obedient to His Word is what this wretched man needs.

Lord Jesus,

Wretched man that I am, I lean on You for my salvation. You deliver me from this deathly existence. You empower me to live rightly, not wretchedly! Forgive the easy attitudes that enable sin to rule me! Convict me to be truly wretched about my sin so that I might love Your righteousness.

Amen