08/31/2018
Do you find yourself to be at war within? Are you in the midst of a battle between your mind and your body, between the weakness of your flesh that is so often made to kneel before God, and the spirit which actually worships Him? We never have to look far as we seek to understand if there truly is both a physical and a spiritual world, because we live with one foot in each, and this tenuous stance threatens constantly to destroy us as our spirit works to tame the man of flesh who walks towards sin.
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
Romans 7:24-25 ESV
Several years ago I heard a rather humorous saying that carries with it a great deal of truth. This saying deals with the dual versus singular nature of marriage, and more specifically with the man being the head of the household. Here is the saying...
“The man might be the head of the household, but the woman is the neck, and the neck can turn the head any way it wishes!”
We laugh when hearing this but it is quite true. A man might establish himself as the head of the house... the king of his castle, but the woman, who is equally engaged in this relationship, exerts more than a little influence over him!! Men are physical creatures by nature, and women are more mentally inclined. There is naturally a dichotomous strain in our marriage, and it must be dealt with before a couple can truly be happy as one flesh. There are many such opposing examples we can call upon to illustrate the greatest of them all... body vs. soul.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24 ESV
So it is between our bodies and our minds (or souls). Our bodies desire the sins of the flesh, but our minds fight mightily to tame them. Sometimes one wins, but at other times the opposition does. As new Christians the outcome is most uncertain, but as we grow in our faith our spirits become stronger, and the sins of the body begin to lose the battles much more frequently. My earlier example might have been humorous, but in our life of faith it is the Holy Spirit that prepares us for this battle of flesh against spirit, and dresses us in the armor of God’s Word for this very real struggle between death and eternal life.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Galatians 5:16-17 ESV
“The things you want to do”... Paul says this, and as we turn our attention to ourselves we realize just how powerfully true those words are, but this is not an excuse for us, but rather a call to action! This realization defines the battlefield on which we stand.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4 ESV
So how goes the fight? What do the headlines read in today’s newspaper which is circulating in your world? Who is winning the war within you today? How dire are the circumstances on the battlefield? Prayer... it brings provision to the spiritual soldier, and we need to lean into it hard each and every day. The enemy knows that when he has cut the supply lines he is close to defeating us, so don’t concede your prayers... call on the Holy Spirit to accompany you in them, and to strengthen your spirit! We are at war within, and there is no outcome that is acceptable short of the total surrender of our fleshly desires. Are you clothed, and ready to step back onto the field of honor? Well, my prayer joins with yours as you buckle yourself and fix your eye on victory.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit that strengthens me in prayer, thank you for your Word that directs my steps, and keeps me strong in my faith, and determined in my love for you. Holy Father, there are so many opposing aspects to my nature, and in each of them I find guidance in your Word, and by the understanding that your Holy Spirit brings to me. None Father is more important than the struggle between my flesh, and spirit. All other efforts to become one are subservient to the ultimate resolution to the conflict between my worldly nature and spiritual self. If I lose this battle Holy Father, I lose all that I am, and become a man separated to himself... lost. You are my core, the focus of everything in my life, call me home when I stray, and open my eyes to your way before me. In your presence I can abide in Jesus Christ, and He in me, together as one with him I can serve you. Come Holy Spirit, come Lord Jesus, I pray for the defeat of temptation and evil as you strengthen me. I look up to see the Father, and long for Him. Help my spirit triumph over my flesh, and my soul to find rest in its joining with my Father’s will for me. Holy, Holy, Holy are you my God, the one in whom I find my peace, and the one in whom I rest. Praised be your name now and for forever.
Rich Forbes