Each and every day there is a battle the goes on inside of us. It's a personal battle and not one person is free from it. The battle is between our flesh and our spirit...and in every outcome of that battle the results will reflect which one was stronger in the moment, and which one had to submit.
Since the beginning of time there has been a battle between what our flesh desires and our spirit knows is good for us. And until you come to know Jesus as your personal Savior, you may not even realize this battle is going on. You may look back on your life and see the paths you took because your flesh won that battle...and you may look back and see the mistakes you avoided because your spirit won that one. God is alway trying to direct our paths. Yes to guide us through life and protect us, but ultimately to lead us to Him. We were created to be with Him and our spirits know that long before our flesh realizes it...and so the battle begins.
If you have been in church long, then you have heard a pastor talk about how you never have to teach a child to be bad, you have to teach them to be good. Why is this? Our human nature (our flesh) gravitates to seeing what we can get away with from even the earliest of ages. And until we know how to be hear from God and be guided by the Holy Spirit, it was our parents who had to teach us and tell us no. They had to teach you not to do this, and you should do this. They had to teach you how to not throw fits when you didn't get what you wanted. How to use your kind words and not the words that naturally wanted to fly out of your mouth when someone made you mad. And doesn't that sound a lot like how the Holy Spirit guides you as you begin to walk with God. Teaching you how to put your flesh in check and do what the spirit God put in you is telling you to do. Whether we realize it or not, there is something deep down in us that wants to have relationship with God. Something that wants to please Him too. That is why we can still feel guilt over something wrong that we did that not one single person knows about. Because our spirit had to submit to our flesh, and something about that created a feeling of guilt.....later to be recognized as conviction. When the flesh wins a battle it opens the door for the enemy to bring in feelings that God never really intended for us to have to walk around with. Feelings of guilt, shame and condemnation are just a few. And if you have walked around with those feelings for very long then you know they can open doors to other feelings like rejection, abandonment, depression and sorrow. These are the things that we can get set free from when we start to submit to Christ and let the Holy Spirit guide us. And until you have walked in THAT freedom it is really hard to explain just how freeing it really is. It does not mean that you found the secret to perfection, but it does mean that you mess us less. It means that a new desire rises up in you to please God and the flesh doesn't win the battles that it used to. And when you truly start to walk with God in submission and surrender, you really start to understand and feel His love in a whole new light. So then when the flesh does rise up and remind you it is still there, you feel God's grace and mercy cover you and your mistakes. And walking in repentance and humbleness with God becomes more important than walking in justification and pride.
Romans 8:8 tells us that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God". A very bold and blunt statement. So I will pose the question to you then....What has been more important to you lately? Pleasing the flesh, or pleasing God? Galatians 5:16 says "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh". It truly does come down to which desires are the most important to you. I know this because I let my flesh drive my decisions for far too long. I was tore up on the inside because of it too. It wasn't until I found (really found) God's love in the middle of the mess I had created that I understood how badly He wanted to set me free from all of that. And once I saw how much surrender and submission made my life better, and that His plans really did make me prosper (Jeremiah 29:11), then my desire to please Him and not my flesh really took over. Yes, my flesh still tries to get it's way, but I don't have to put it in check by myself any more. I have the power and the spirit of Christ living in me and He and He alone makes me an overcomer!
God, thank You that You sent us the Holy Spirit to help and guide us. Help us to listen for Him and listen to Him when our flesh is trying to win a battle. Give us the strength it takes to overcome the desires of the flesh and tell others how amazing life really is when we submit to You and live a life that pleases You. In Jesus name, Amen.
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