Devotionals
Leftovers Again?
Mari Morris
Copyright 09/17/2026
I don't know about you, but I don't really mind most leftovers.
Some people don't like them and won't eat them.
But I think that they taste better on the second or even the third day.
Even so, there are some leftovers that I don't like at all...
I'll explain.
Most Christians remember when they first came to Christ.
It made such a miraculous change in our lives.
From one moment to the next, it changed most of what we used to do.
As the saying goes:
"I don' t drink and I don't chew...
And I don't go with those who do!"
One of the most dramatic examples of this would be Saul turned Paul. One minute he was Saul Tormentor of Christians...
And the very next minute ("born again"), as Paul Apostle to the Gentiles!
Such an amazing transformation.
After that, came...
The leftovers...
It was Paul who later wrote:
Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of sin? Oh, Thank God! He will! Romans 7:24-25
He was talking about everything that didn't change immediately when he came to Christ.
Those are the kind of leftovers I said that I don't like.
The things that don't seem to budge. The things that you can't seem to change or pray away.
Day after day. Week after week. Month after month...
And then, all these years later...
Why am I still dealing with all the same leftovers?
The things that didn't even bother me as an unbeliever suddenly feel like a cancerous blemish that has no cure.
I know from the Bible that I am walking down the path to Sanctification.
That it is a journey.
And I can accept that.
But why can't I see any changes?
In the most difficult times, I find myself wondering if I completely wandered off the path. Maybe I never even noticed.
And in the worst times, I wonder if I was ever even on the path at all.
Then I think back to conversations that I have had with unbelievers. Some told me that they don't believe and they don't want to believe.
There is one thing that I most often said in response:
"Whether you're a believer like me, or you never choose to believe...
You will go through difficult times. Everyone does.
Christian or Not...
So, if you are going to go through hard times either way,
Then you better have God..."
When I get really weary, I tell myself what I told them.
And I realize that no matter how I feel in the moment, I am always better off with God.
And Please remember if you start to feel discouraged:
God used Paul to write almost half of the New Testament.
If he was not exempt from “leftovers” we won’t be exempt either.
And we have God's promises in Scripture
In Philippians 1:6
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Then in 2 Corinthians 3:18
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
In Hebrews 12:2
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I realize that it is not all up to me. And my toiling and spinning are in vain.
Though I still need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Though I still need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
I am on the path. Keeping my eyes on the prize..
The Author and Finisher of my faith.
Knowing that He is the One who will be waiting for me...
When I cross the Finish Line.
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