Christ is our mediator with God and we can have direct access to Him through a personal relationship with Jesus. Therefore if we don’t deal with sin right away, it can quickly cloud our minds.
When a person accepts Christ as his Lord and Saviour, he is born again, and the Holy Spirit dwells within him:
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”
2 Corinthians 3:16
However, some sinful attitudes and behaviors do grieve and quench the Spirit, creating a barrier between us and the beauty of Christ, which the Spirit gives.
When we sin, we open the door to even more sin and give the devil a foothold in our lives to occupy us with fleshly things. And undoubtedly, sin will overwhelm you with destruction and worldly concerns.
As a result, sin serves as a veil between us and Christ. And these are the most common ones that keep us from seeing the beauty of Christ.
OPEN YOUR HEART TO GOD’S VOICE
The first one is disobedience.
God is constantly speaking to us. Through His Spirit, people, and a variety of other means. Are we truly listening to His voice when He speaks? Do we even want to hear what He has to say to us? Are our ears open to the Truth?
Do we obey His voice, or do we cover ourselves in the shell of pride and self-righteousness?
Don’t try to hide or ignore His voice; instead, accept it and allow God to lead you where He wants you to go.
Probably, we’ve all experienced how it feels when you tell someone to do something and they don’t. Or vice versa. How do you think God feels about the act of disobedience?
If God tells us to do something, we should do it with goodwill and always be prepared to do good work by His will.
WE ARE MARRIED TO GOD
We are in the first place married to God. And our God is jealous God:
“Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
James 4:5
Therefore, we have to be devoted to living the way God asks us.
Obey His voice,
not yours.
HAVE FAITH
The second sin that will put a veil between us and Christ is a lack of faith.
When we come to God, the first thing we must do is believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him:
“And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
I struggled with that particular sin for a long time, until I fell into a “spiritual sickness” in which my heart was so overburdened with worldly things that I couldn’t see the goodness and mercy of our Lord any longer. It was at this point that God showed me how a lack of faith can bring you down:
“If you are not firm in the faith, you will not be firm at all.”
Isaiah 7:9
From that point forward, I resolved to stop living in fear and to fully trust God, regardless of the circumstances. Living in constant fear will only occupy your time and cause you to waste it on meaningless things rather than spending it on the written Word and prayer.
PRAY WITH FAITH
No matter what situation you are in, pray with faith. Never doubt His goodness because those who doubt have no fellowship with the Lord and are unstable in all their ways:
“But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”
James 1:6
Praying with faith does not mean you will get everything you want. God will give you what you need at a time, which is often not what you desire. But He will provide and everything He does is for your good and His glory. So, trust Him and have faith, for He is good all the time!
And if you have a lack of faith, ask God to increase it:
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
Luke 17:5
CAST THE PRIDE AT HIS FEET
The third sin is pride. Are you too proud to bow down to God’s throne?
We cannot have true fellowship with the Lord as long as we are proud. So, cast your pride at His feet and watch how His redeeming love can transform you into the person God created you to be.
Fear God and avoid being self-righteous in your own eyes, because God sees everything and everyone:
“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.”
Proverbs 3:7
Only God knows what is best for us, so don’t try to solve problems on your own; instead, turn to God for all your needs:
“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:6
BE AT PEACE WITH EVERYONE
The fourth sin is unforgiveness.
Do not let the bitterness of unforgiveness blind your mind to the point where your heart grows cold toward others. If our hearts are filled with resentment, we cannot expect God to forgive us either:
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
Matthew 6:14-15
Unforgiveness only hurts the person who refuses to forgive. Forgiveness brings light into your heart, so move on and live like the salt of the earth:
“As the Lord has forgiven you, so must you forgive.”
Colossians 3:13
Jesus paid for all of our sins on the cross, so we no longer live in sin, but in freedom:
“He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”
Colossians 2:14
If God forgives us for our trespasses, how can we refuse to forgive others?
As a true vessel of Jesus Christ, we have to love those who have wronged us, bless them, and be at peace with everyone:
“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
Matthew 5:46
Forgive while there is still time because we don’t know when our Father will return.
If you are unable to forgive right away, pray to God for the strength and power to forgive.
SHOW MERCY
Show mercy to everyone, especially those who have hurt you, because the bible says:
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Matthew 5:7
Respect others even when others don’t respect you. Show love and patience to all people and stand out like a shining star in the crowd.
Allow Christ’s love to be seen wherever you go.
RESIST THE DEVIL, NOT GOD
The fifth sin that will put a veil between you and Christ is rebelliousness toward God.
If you try to do things your way, God will let you do them in some way.
I remember receiving an invitation to work for a woman I had previously worked with, and it was a pleasure to be in her company.
“Of course,” I said right away in response to her offer. Everything appeared to be great until the day before, when I anxiously asked myself, “Did I even ask God if it’s His will to work for her?” No, was the answer.
And let me tell you that God has disabled all of my abilities since the day I started working for her.
I felt completely paralyzed, and everything went downhill from there. Almost every task I had to complete was incorrect. I couldn’t even remember the work instructions she gave me. The next minute I forgot everything she said.
I wasn’t bothered by it for a brief moment, so I continued to work for her under the guise of “I need money.” You can imagine what happened next.
My working abilities slowed to the point where I did almost nothing during the day.
Throughout the process, God showed me that accepting this job opportunity was not His will because He had other plans for me at the time.
I refused to listen to Him. And later my abilities were disabled to the point where I couldn’t do anything there at all. And it was at that point that I realized the truth about the consequences of my rebellion against God.
We may believe we require something, but we may not; only God knows what our true needs are:
“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Matthew 6:8
You will always fail if you try to do things your way.
So, resist the world’s temptations and your fleshly desires, not God’s redeeming hand. Resist the devil’s lies and fill your mind with Truth.
SERVE THE LORD, NOT YOUR FLESH
The sixth sin that can put a veil between us and Christ is the lust of the flesh.
Do not be concerned and caught up with worldly matters such as what to eat, what to wear, what path to take, or what tomorrow will bring. All of this is known to God. He will give you what you need:
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33
What we should focus on as born-again Christians is to focus on the way of Christ, which is to deny ourselves. The Bible says:
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24
“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
Matthew 10:38
Deny your fleshly desires daily and surrender your ways to the Lord. And the presence of the Holy Spirit will fill you with fire when your eyes are truly fixed on the Lord.
SUBMIT YOURSELF TO THE LORD
The seventh sin for the absence of the Holy Spirit is not being fully submitted to the Lord.
Submit everything – your day, desires, plans, thoughts, emotions, will, and everything else – to the Lord. First and foremost, submit to His authority rather than the authority of the world.
Fear the Lord and surrender all anxious thoughts to Him, for He cares for you:
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7
Let His will be done. Let His seed produce good fruit in you. And therefore:
“Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
DEVOTE TIME TO THE WORD AND PRAYER
I cannot emphasize how important is to spend time in the Word of God and prayer. It’s so easy for our hearts to be hardened, but when we continue to abide in Christ, the Lord bears the fruit. So we must stick to Jesus throughout the day.
We need to drink His living water daily and let our bodies be washed with pure water. We have to humble ourselves before the Father and ask Him to help transform us.
The Bible teaches us to come to Jesus exactly as we are. Therefore, rather than running away from Him when you sin, run to Him and ask for forgiveness.
Do not fall asleep, spiritual sleep, when your heart becomes hardened by the deceitfulness of the pleasures of this world. You will start to be lukewarm and estranged from God.
So, let us not make Him sad, but:
“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”
Philippians 4:4
for nearly 81 years ,I have lived my way and in my life have sinned greatly,after reading your words of GOD, I am wondering if I have a chance to be redeemed from my sins and still receive the HOLY SPIRIT .All these years I knew there was a GOD and JESUS was His Son, and I still sinned. Do I even have a chance to even be received into His fold?
First of all, let me express that I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all these trying times. My response to your question is YES! It is never too late to be adopted into His family and be received into His fold as long as we are still breathing!
Jesus will welcome us, forgive us, and cleanse us from all iniquity if we humble ourselves and run into His loving arms in repentance.
I believe that this verse from Romans 11:22–23 best captures the idea of being grafted back into His tree: “Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.”
We are saved by grace through faith. Jesus is always able to set the captives free.
The YouTube video “How to Live through the Spirit & Overcome Sin & Addiction” by Daniel Maritz provides excellent explanations of this subject.
I pray that God would guide you into all of His truth. I’ll remember you in my prayers. God be the Rock, the Saviour, and the Good Shepherd for you.
Thank you for writing this! I needed it. Im sending it to myself to reread. It is very helpful to me! I have been carrying my own troubles and burdens for a long time. I’m a caregiver and have been wondering why I haven’t felt the Holy Spirit. It’s because I’ve been doing all the worrying. So many bad things has been happening at home, things breaking down inside the home and vehicles. It’s been a misery! I know my faith has been lacking because everything falls on me to take care of.
Hi, Marla! I just prayed for you! I’m glad that you found it helpful. I want to encourage you with these three Bible verses: “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you,” 1 Peter 5:7, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28, and “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Don’t give up, have faith in the Lord; He is good! Even when everything seems to be going wrong, He still has a plan. And sometimes instead of a river, God often gives us a brook, which may be running today and dried up tomorrow. Why? To teach us not to rest in our blessings but in the Blesser himself. He will take care of you, for He is Jehovah Jireh – the Lord our provider. For one glimpse at the waves, let a thousand looks at the Lord follow.
I pray for you, and may God continue to bless you.