When you became a Christian, you entered a lifelong war against your flesh. But you can win the battle! Keep choosing Jesus every day. Make him your treasure. As you starve the flesh and feed the spirit, godly desires will begin to take hold in your heart. Jesus will be right there with you as you fight the good fight of righteousness!
Let me tell you, my spiritual battle is not with the devil.
And I mean that. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and most of my battles are with myself. Constantly, I need Jesus to rescue me from me. For I am indeed my own worst enemy. Even though Ephesians 4 says that I am "created after the likeness of God," that same verse goes on to say that my "old self," which belongs to my former life, is still "corrupt through its deceitful desires." And I feel it; I experience it every day. Now true, God has implanted within my heart a bent for good, but my flesh – that is, the desires of my old self – are constantly waging war against my new self; that is, my life in Christ. It’s what I mean when I say that I am my own worst enemy and that I need constant rescuing from myself. Because there is still a rebellious spirit way down deep inside of me; I’ve still got this itching to get things my way; keeping a record of other people’s wrongs; cherishing inflated ideas of my own importance; manipulating my husband with precisely timed phrases, fudging the truth, hiding the facts when it’s convenient. How I am so quick to judge and choose not to think the best of other people’s motives. I mean, I know how easily I can yield to my old self, rehearsing old grudges, and replaying old fantasies. Does this surprise you? Me confessing all this? Well, look, like you, I am a sinner. At times, I am a cheater, a liar, and even a poser. And I hate that about myself. I hate all of it. I hate the sin of which I know I am capable.
When we become Christians, we enter a lifelong internal war. Galatians 5 describes that war when it says that "the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh." And friend, here’s the battle. It is, in fact, the main battle of the Christian life, the one waged every day against your flesh, your old self. But here’s how you can fight it. Here’s how I fight it every single day…
You can win this battle as you keep starving the flesh and keep feeding the Spirit. Starve the flesh, feed the spirit. Every day it’s – strangle the deceitful desires of your old self and feed – that is, nourish – your life in the spirit. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Choose Jesus. Prefer Jesus. And do it throughout the day until you literally sever the root of your former self, so that new and godly desires begin to take hold of your heart. Another way of saying it is – keep reprogramming the default settings of your heart so that you are more inclined to follow the Holy Spirit than your old life. And when those settings crash, then reprogram them again. And again. And again. It’s what makes the Christian life a hard but a good fight. So wake up in the morning, tomorrow get dressed in your spiritual armor, grab the sword of the Spirit, and keep making Christ your treasure; keep prizing him above your rebellious ways. Keep choosing Christ. And when you stumble or fail and submit to your lower nature, Christ is right there with you, giving you grace-filled encouragement.
Oh, friend, you may have an enemy in the devil, but your flesh is just as subversive. So fight the good fight. And I pray that these hope-filled words energize you. Sever the root of your deceitful desires and just watch your joy and peace and life of righteousness grow leaps and bounds. Hey, if you need prayer in this battle, let us know at joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends