The war within us

There is a war that wages against us, it’s constant, consuming, and restless. It paves its way around our heart like weeds grow over an old house. It knows no end, only destruction.

And I ask, Is your body waging war against you?

Like Paul, I have found myself in tears screaming, ” Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Rom 7:24″. What a bitter struggle to face, the knowledge that I can’t trust the body that holds my soul and spirit together.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right,evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Rom 7:21-22

Why is it that when we seek to do God’s will, sin is lying at the door? It’s because our bodies follow their own law that seeks to satisfy their needs, wants, and desires no matter the cost. Even the most controversial psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud who was an atheist acknowledge it when he proposed a structural model of the psychic apparatus that consist of three parts: SuperEgo, Ego, and ID. According to his theory The Super Ego plays the moral role, Ex: Thou Shall not, The ID represents the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, while the Egoplays the middle man that mediates between the desires of the ID and the Super Ego.

“One might compare the relation of the ego to the id with that between a rider and his horse. The horse provides the locomotor energy, and the rider has the prerogative of determining the goal and of guiding the movements of his powerful mount towards it. But all too often in the relations between the ego and the id we find a picture of the less ideal situation in which the rider is obliged to guide his horse in the direction in which it itself wants to go.” Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, 1932.

The battle between the law of our mind and the law of our instincts is real and old to men/women. Just like the analogy of the rider and the horse we have allowed the horse to guide the way in the direction he wants to go. Paul understood this battle vividly, just as you and I do. Now that we understand the war within us, it’s important to point out 3 things.

1.We are free from the law of sin – Though it feels like the desires are overpowering, we have been set free from the bondage of the law of sin. We no longer see sin as normal, we see it for what it truly is a falling away from the purpose of God. For that reason, we are led into a mournful state like Paul’s after acknowledging that we have stepped out of the plan and purpose of God. We are free, but that doesn’t mean that temptation won’t arise or that the law of sin within us won’t manifest. It means that now we are led by the Spirit, a new law has taken place.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law (Gal 5:17-18).

2. You are impotent to obey the Word – The moment we start to rely on our power and strength to obey the Word is the moment we fall. We need to continuously depend on God for strength to empower us to fulfill His plan and obey it. From the moment Eve choose to step out of the plan of God, our bodies have weakened and fallen short of His glory.  If we are not habitually asking for strength and studying His will, we walk farther and farther away from the law of the Spirit, while giving the law of the flesh a foothold in the door.

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Cor 1:13). 

3. Just because it’s natural, doesn’t mean it’s right It is very easy to fall into a justification trap saying, “Why should I stop and neglect the desires of my body, it’s only natural?”While taking the following verse out of context “It is not I who do it, but I am under the awful power of sin, which is holding me down” to use it as an excuse to continue a sinful habit. Remember we can’t trust the body, it instinctual it follows the law of its desires.

” Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions (Rom 6:12).

If you find yourself in an endless loop of falling and mourning just like Dr. Strange, know that you are not alone and that your sin has been paid for by Jesus on the cross. It is not by works nor by a count of acts of obedience to the Word, it is by His grace and love,“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool (Isaiah 1:18). But beware of using grace as an excuse to repeat the patterns that have been entangling you, Yes the Lord will forgive you, but should we get so close to getting burned or closer to godliness? A true encounter with Jesus should lead us to repentance and a desire to obey the Word. We should continuously keep trying to act in obedience, in God’s strength. Daily, ask the Lord for help to overcome the habits and pattern of life that has been taking dominion over your life.

Application:

• Set time apart this week to feed your spirit through fasting, prayer, and studying the Word.
• Download a Free copy of the Love Joy & Peace 21-day Tracker to help you figure out what is causing you to fall. Once you have completed the Tracker, study the most common triggers that are leading you to sin. Then work purposefully to create tactics to avoid them.
• Find an accountability partner that can provide you encouragement, support, and prayer in your weakest moments. Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Eccles. 4:9-10