“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” Romans 7:18.
There comes a point in our growth into Christ that we must enter into despair. Not despairing of life or hope, but despairing of all our own ability to please our God by our own efforts. We must come to realize that we have no good thing in us to offer our God, even after we have chosen to join with Him.
In our flesh resides no good thing, and when that finally sinks in to our core, we can despair of all our own efforts. The words of Theodore Austin Sparks on this as it relates to conformity to the image and standard of Christ and the lesson of despair:
“Then…the Holy Spirit brings us face to face with the utter impossibility of our ever being that of ourselves. You see, God has set up a standard, God has presented His model, God has given us His object for our conformity and the next thing we come up against is the utter impossibility of being that. Yes, of ourselves it cannot be. Have you not learned that lesson of despair yet? Is ti necessary for the Holy Spirit to make you despair again? Why no have one good despair and get it all over? Why despair every few days? Only because you are still hunting round for something somewhere, some rag of goodness in yourself that you can present to God that will please Him, satisfy Him and answer to His requirements. You will never find it. Settle if that “all our righteousness is as filthy rags.” Our righteousness, all that trying to be so righteous, the Lord says of it all, “Filthy rags.“
“Let us settle this once for all. If you are looking ahead of what I am saying, you will see what it is leading to. It is leading to the most glorious position. It is leading to that glorious issue mentioned by the Lord in this way, in those days before things became inward: “learn of me…and you shall find rest for your souls.” That is the end. But we shall never find rest unto our souls until we have first of all learned the utter difference between Christ and ourselves, and then the utter impossibility of our ever being like Him in anything we can find in ourselves, produce, or do. It is not in us, in ourselves, in that way. So we had better despair our last despair with regard to ourselves.”
“...There is only One in the universe concerning whom God can say from His heart, “in whom I am well pleased,” and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. If ever you and I are going to come into that favour, it will be as “in Christ Jesus,” never in ourselves.”
The people who witnessed the life of Jesus on earth were amazed. “When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?” Mark 6
Jesus explained his life in this way: ““Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” And again, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” John 5 and 14.
Just as Jesus lived by the life of the Father and did His perfect works by the working of the Father, so we now can live in the Kingdom only by the life of Christ in us and do the works of the Kingdom only by the working of Christ in and through us.
We must come to despair of all our own living so we can give it up fully in repentance. Only then can we begin to live by the divine life of God in Christ in us, every day. This is the lesson of despair.
Without Limit 
Yes, the eternally immutable One Three Person God of all grace and all glory is proven perfect in my personal pitifulness. I am no good, never was, never shall be, but by God.
I revel in and rejoice to love the One Triune God of all mercy, all magnificence, and all munificence because He first loved me.
It takes the holy Trinity of loving, living infinity to love the God Who is Himself the Love, the Light, the Liberty,
To love God is to exult in and extol God in awe-stricken, worshipful, loving obedience, not by our might nor our power but by His inimitable Spirit of holiness and intercession, for the all-transcendent Treasure Whom He is, mercifully, magnificently giving us to be partakers of His perfect, divine nature, conforming us to the character of Christ, granting us, so incredibly charitably, everlasting citizenship and ceaseless companionship in the celestial city, courtyards, and countryside. Absolutely, we are His perfectly perfecting workmanship to that perfect day,
Our Bright and Morning Star for each morning and Dayspring from on high throughout every day, Christ Jesus truly, truly is. He is our praise and our glory forevermore, having raised us from the dead, the Resurrection and the Life, our heavenly dignity, even now as ones graced by His undeserved, unmerited favor, securely seated and surely sanctified with Him in heavenly places, and in the everlasting, holy, happy highlands of heaven hereafter, when we shall share completely in His supreme sanctification and superscendent, sovereign satisfaction.
Romans 8:26-39 AMP Our Victory in Christ
26 In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.
27 And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.
30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
31 What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?
32 He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?
33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself].
34 Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us.
35 Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 Just as it is written and forever remains written, “For Your sake we are put to death all day long; We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].
38 For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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