Galatians 5:16-17
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
Have you ever had one of those days where life is a constant war that seems to be taking place inside of you?
A day where doubt, fear, uncertainty seemed to have grabbed you by the throat and all three of them are screaming, "Listen to me!!!".
Kind of hard to move forward when such is happening.
Funny part is that your heart is telling you something contrary to what your mind is saying.
The heart is communicating truth to you.
It may come in the form of a verse that you suddenly remember....
Or something someone else may have told you in the past that helped you....
No matter which, it is as though the mine is telling you to discount what the heart says.
"Pay no heed to what your heart is saying!" So you have this struggle between mind (sinful nature/ flesh / Paul refers to it as the "OLD MAN"....and your heart. Now of course when I speak of your heart, I am not referring to the muscle that keeps life's rhythm, in your chest. I am referring to the very core of your being. The center of who you really are. The place of the spirit, intellect, emotion, and world view of life.
Yesterday was a day where I was battered on every side by doubt. Really had no reason for such to be happening, it just was. Every time a wave of thoughts would come to knock me off my feet, I would recite a verse. One wave would consist of "Who do you think you're fooling...you're not really a follower of Jesus. If you were, you'd be kinder and more attentive to the needs of others." I would counter with Ephesians 4:21-23 - Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life (which includes the former way of thinking), which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God----truly righteous and holy.
Hannah Whitall Smith, in her book The Christian's Secret To A Happy Life, writes "Our fight is to be a fight of faith, and the moment we let in doubts and fear, our fight ceases, and our rebellion begins." A rebellion that will encourage us to not listen to the Holy Spirit, but rather our sin nature. Remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4..."Do not give the devil a foothold." In other words, do not let him rent space in your mind. God has provided for us, through His Holy Spirit, power to deal with these wrong thoughts that seek to pull us away from following Him.
II Corinthians 10:4-5
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every though into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Did you catch that?
Bringing every thought (and what falls under every "every"? Why every thing, of course)
into captivity...in other words, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we have the authority AND THE POWER, to take our thoughts captive and not allow them to roll around unopposed in our brains. Now that is some kind of good stuff. So the next time you get beat up by your old nature trying to draw you into some kind of spiritual funk....rise up and say, "NOPE! Ain't gonna happen."
God on you....
mbb
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