Flesh vs. Spirit
“For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other.” – Galatians 5:17
A battle. A consistent, every day battle. A battle that will never stop. A battle that you cannot run from. A battle that you were predestined to win.
I want you to imagine with me a fight. Two men going at it like it’s a battle for their very lives, yet, you notice something. These guys were born into this battle. They were destined for this battle. They are tired, worn out, and ready to give up, but their coach on ringside urges them to “keep going! It’s going to be worth it!”
I imagine that senario, because that is our lives. Every. Single. Day. It’s always a battle. I’m talking about a battle that we cannot see. I’m talking about the battle of Flesh verses Spirit. Our flesh desires things that the Spirit doesn’t, and our Spirit desires things the flesh doesn’t. The flesh desires things like fame, honor, money, success, newest gadgets, FAILURE IN OTHERS (Ouch! That’s a big one!), etc. While the Spirit desires things like a relationship with Jesus, peace, patience, kindness, love, grace, mercy, freedom, wisdom, understanding, etc. You get the picture.
Almost in everything that I do, there is always a battle.
Flesh. I am reminded of Solomon, the wisest man to live, yet, he married hundreds of women, desired fame and fortune more than His God. The thing that I see the most in Solomon is yes, a man that failed, but a man who had so much wisdom, but he fell…he fell hard. Listen to me, readers, I don’t care how much you read Proverbs and how much wisdom you have, but if you completely turn yourself from the living God, you will fall! No matter how much wisdom Solomon had, he still fell.
Don’t you get the picture? The enemy is stronger than your wisdom! The enemy is stronger than we think, and the sad thing is, is that the enemy uses people who think they are “spiritual”. I have seen so many church people argue with the Pastor of the church about the vision of the church for hours upon hours. I have seen situations to where the flesh manifests itself in humans.
Spirit. I am reminded of a man named Jesus. The Messiah. The Christ. The Savior of the world. Jesus was tempted in every way that we were, so we have no excuse to say, “well, I’m going through this and that. I’m giving up!” We go through our days acting like Jesus died for nothing, but when really, He died for the very thing that you are struggling with. God didn’t send His only Son to die on the cross for a good feeling; He died for your soul!
Listen to me, feeding the Spirit is one of the hardest things you will ever do…but it’s the most beneficial. Feeding the flesh is easy. It is SO easy to do…but it’s the most harmful. Because God died for me, I choose to give into the Spirit. It’s not a choice; it’s a lifestyle! When people cut you off on the road, do you want to cuss at them or do you want to smile at them and bless them? When a homeless man approaches you, do you want to walk away because he smells like liquor, or do you want to help them?
Flesh vs. Spirit. It’s your choice. What will you choose today? You can get mad…or you can bless. You can mouth off to your parents or boss…or you can submit and follow. It’s your choice, people. I am tired of people that blame God for the sin in the world today. God has nothing to do with it. The world is the way it is, because of our stupid choices. Did you lose your job? Are you going bankrupt? You feel like you’re alone and people everywhere hate you? Are you burnt out? Ready to give up? I am here to tell you to keep going! If you have the Spirit of the living God inside of you, you can do it. God didn’t give you His Spirit for you to struggle. Feed the Spirit more than you feed your very stomach. I promise it’s worth it! God is just around the corner with your gift of deliverance! KEEP GOING! You can do it!
