True victory

"Are you living an up and down Christian life, frustrated by a seeming lack of progress or spiritual growth? Maybe you're standing in your own way. Because God isn't holding a measuring stick, and the Christian life is not a self-improvement program.

"Life in Christ has nothing to do with rededicating ourselves or doing our best to live for Him; that very notion contradicts grace. To experience His life, growth, and sufficiency, we renounce the self-life (after all, we've been crucified with Christ), and start trusting Him as our very life.

"I remind myself of this very thing: Victory in the Christian life doesn't come by trying harder. Victory comes by trusting."

-Victoria Gaines