The Battle That Rages Within

I preached on Sunday about our internal struggle.  That battle that rages within us every day between knowing what is right and doing what is right.  About knowing good from evil and still, at times, making the wrong choices.  

Paul wrote about in Romans, and many believe he was talking about himself before his experience with Jesus on the Damascus Road.  I see it differently. Paul was describing himself, but I think he was describing the challenges he still dealt with as a mature Christian.  

And why do I think that.  

Because Paul wrote it in the present tense.  I don’t believe Paul is speaking of a former self, I believe he was speaking about his current self.

The very fact that he delights in God's law in verse 22 reveals a transformed heart. Only a believer could say, 'In my inner being I delight in God's law.'

But Paul describes an internal war raging in vivid terms in verses 21-23: 'So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.'

This is the lived reality for all of us.   Augustine confessed his struggle with lust even after conversion. Martin Luther battled anxiety and depression while leading the Reformation. John Wesley recorded his ongoing struggles with pride and vanity even as he preached holiness.

And this is what I tell people about things like this.  

Ask for help. Pray about it.  Admit your weakness.  Because the same Spirit that pointed it out to you to begin with will help you face that challenge and resolve it.  The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives within you.  Remember.  It’s about progress, not perfection.  If you beat yourself up every time you make a mistake, and we all make mistakes, you’ll never get there. You’ll get there with prayer, with persistence and with God’s help. 

These struggles we face in life are not evidence of spiritual failure but of spiritual awareness. The closer we draw to God's holiness, the more we recognize our own shortcomings. Spiritual maturity often brings a heightened awareness of where we still fall short. 

The battle itself is evidence of our faith.

~Pastor Todd Creason