Fight the Good Fight!
“I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to—what I hate.”
Romans 7:15 (TLB)
Abraham Lincoln once said, "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide." You can apply that personally as well. A Pogo comic strip put it like this, “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” We are our worst critic and our worst enemy at times. Even the greatest spiritual leader in the New Testament apart from Jesus Christ, said this, “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to—what I hate.” Romans 7:15 (TLB) In case you didn’t know, that was the Apostle Paul who wrote about two-thirds of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and planted more churches than any other single apostle! When you read what he writes in Romans 7, you see how personally he understood the battle within! It is relentless! It usually hits you after the honeymoon stage of your faith when you have received the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
If you are a Christ follower, you face three lethal enemies daily. They are sin, self, and Satan. Theologians will refer to them as the world, the flesh, and the devil. The good news is that the Bible assures the believer in 1 John 4:4 (NKJV) that “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Will-power alone is not enough. We need God’s power. However, with the will, we can choose to put God first, to yield our bodies, minds, and souls to His control. Romans 8:13-14 tells us how. It says, “For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (AMPL)
We all fight a battle within. How are you doing with yours? The Good News is that though the battle is constant, the victory is instant! Conquering the enemy within is possible through our union with Christ. He is the powerful ally we turn to. He conquered death, hell, and the grave at the cross! “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world!” Someone once described the battle within as like two pit bulls fighting for domination. Which one will win? The one you feed. Feed your soul with the Word of God. It’s the Sword of the Spirit!
The victory is yours, and the battle is the Lord’s! He’s already won it! Because we live in a fallen world and are born with a sinful nature, we will fight this battle within until Jesus comes again. Yet, we are not defenseless. He has not left us to fight alone. Choose to follow Christ and be led by His Spirit. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NIV) So keep fighting the good fight! You are a victor in Christ – not a victim!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.