The War Within

My brothers and sisters, I want to talk to you today about a battle.

Not a battle between nations. Not a battle between neighbors. Not even a battle between good people and bad people.

I'm talking about a battle that takes place right here. Inside of us.

And I want to tell you something before we go any further.

I'm in that battle, too.

The Apostle Paul said something in Romans, chapter seven, that has stayed with me.

He said, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."

Now think about that.

Here is Paul. An apostle of Jesus Christ. A man who gave his life to preaching the gospel.

And he's telling us that sometimes he struggles to do the very things he knows are right.

I don't know about you, but I find some comfort in that.

Because I've had days when my patience was shorter than it ought to have been.

Days when I knew I should have spoken kindly, but didn't.

Days when I ought to have forgiven somebody, but held on to my hurt just a little longer.

And sometimes, brothers and sisters, the hardest person to forgive is the one looking back at us in the mirror.

Now the scripture tells us that the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

But hear me carefully.

Your body is not your enemy.

God gave you that body. It is a sacred gift.

The battle is over who is going to lead your life.

Will it be anger, or will it be patience?

Will it be pride, or will it be humility?

Will it be selfishness, or will it be love?

And let me tell you something else.

Not every struggle is a sin.

Being tired is not a sin.

Feeling afraid is not a sin.

Being tempted is not the same as giving in to temptation.

Even our Savior was tempted. Yet He was without sin.

So don't you go believing that every weakness you carry is proof that God is disappointed in you.

No, sir.

Sometimes the very fact that you're struggling tells me there's something precious inside you that still wants to follow Jesus.

Now listen to what Paul said after describing that battle.

He cried out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

And then he answered his own question.

"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

There it is!

Paul didn't say, "I'll just have to be stronger tomorrow."

He didn't say, "I'll fight harder until I'm good enough."

He turned to Jesus Christ.

Because, brothers and sisters, we were never meant to win this battle without Him.

And here's something I've come to believe.

The Lord is not standing over us with a list of every battle we've lost.

He is reaching out His hand, inviting us to get up and walk with Him again.

So if you've fallen short today, repent.

If you've spoken harshly, make it right.

If you've let bitterness settle in your heart, ask the Lord to help you let it go.

And if you've been fighting a weakness for years, don't stop bringing it to Jesus.

Don't confuse a long battle with a lost battle.

Remember what Paul said in Second Corinthians.

"Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."

Day by day, my friends.

Not all at once.

Day by day.

And one day, through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, the struggle that troubles us so deeply now will no longer have power over us.

Until then, we keep walking.

We keep repenting.

We keep loving.

And we keep trusting the One who has already overcome the world.

May God bless every one of you who is fighting a battle nobody else can see.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.