How Bad Do You Want To Be Delivered?

This is a question I found myself asking sitting here on my sofa. I know all the right scriptures, I have been entrusted with understanding and divine revelation, but why does it seem so difficult to walk out what I know! Sometimes I literally feel like Paul in Romans 7:13-20 (ESV) - "...in my flesh... I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me."

The teaching today at church was about overcoming struggles and conflicts. Pastor Jean taught from Galatans 5 and 6. He began by calling Galatians the handbook on how to get free, stay free and walk free. I'll share a few key points:

• All of your blunders (sinful acts) are only blunders because of what is inside of your heart - you have a choice, nobody can make you do anything.
• If you are struggling that means that you are in your flesh.
• When you are in your flesh you complain.
• When you are in the Spirit you have liberty and peace, and rather than complain you speak life into situations.
• Whenever your flesh is involved there will always be warfare. The only exception is when you are totally submitted to the flesh - at that moment satan is in complete control and warfare ceases.
• We must choose to submit either to the flesh or the Spirit.
• When you sow to the flesh (your sinful nature), you reap destruction because you are reaping from the nature of your old man.
• When you are affected by struggles you are in your flesh. When you are in the Spirit it doesn't bother you because you understand that what you are going through is just a process.
  
• Our struggles are purposed - God wants to see if we will press our way through them, if we truly love Him, if we are willing to sacrifice for Him, even to the point where we give our very life.

I've made many mistakes, and have been in my flesh way too much. But I praise God for His mercy, and for allowing me to overcome. It is time for us as Christians to submit ourselves to God and walk according to the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the flesh. It is time for us to renew our minds by the Word of God so that we can be strengthened and have the necessary weapons to wage a good warfare as we hold our peace and allow God to fight our battles, dwelling in the rest of God.