INTERNAL WARFARE

Rom. 7:21-25 It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.  NLT

      Are you at war? Do you know the tension and weariness of fighting spiritual battles? Do you ever want it to just stop? It is impossible to live in relationship with Christ and not have a constant war going on in your soul. No matter how mature in faith we may be, we will always be bombarded with the temptations to sin. There will always be a desire within us to yield. We will always want to enjoy the momentary pleasures of sin. We will never be so strong that we can't sin against God. When we shore up one area of weakness, another area weakens. We must always remain vigilant over our souls and strive to protect them from sinning against God.

      Don't kid yourself. You are capable of sinning against God! No one can live a sin- free life in the flesh. And no one is so close to God that he does not live in the flesh. It is no fun fighting the spiritual war that rages within us. It makes for a miserable time in our lives when we stumble and fall. We are most vulnerable when we believe too strongly in ourselves and think we can get by on our own. It is when we begin to slack off on our relationship with the Lord through his Word, prayer, and fellowship that we really begin to get into trouble.

      The good news is that it doesn't have to be the way it often is. We do have all the help we need to win the battle over our sins. We have a Savior! We have one who will help us and enable us to live in victory. All we have to do is stay tightly connected to Him. The victory is ours in Christ Jesus!