Struggles

I think everybody struggles. I’m not talking about decisions - to move or not, change jobs or stay where you are, should I pay this bill or that one? I’m thinking more in the lines of ongoing struggles we all deal with - sometimes on a daily or moment-by-moment basis. It’s the stuff in our lives that constantly gnaw at us and lures us away from God. It’s the stuff each of us wrestle with and have to put the smack-down on to break free from.

You know what I mean, for some it’s alcohol, or drugs, or gossiping, or pornography, or lust, or adultery, or over spending & credit card issues. Some of you may be struggling with exaggeration - your story always seems to become more grandiose when you tell it, or your attitude sucks and it’s a constant battle not to allow it to control you. Whatever it is, it’s a battle. And if you’re like me you feel the battle constantly raging inside of you.

I just want to encourage you in the midst of your battle. First, even guys like Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, struggled. Listen to his words found in the seventh chapter of Romans,

So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (v. 14-25)

Do you get a sense that Paul knows exactly what it feels like to struggle in your walk with the Lord? I do. I also know that in the midst of his struggle he found a marvelous nugget of truth that we all could remember - “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” That’s right. Paul knew it and now you know it. Your answer lies in your relationship with Christ.

In Chapter 8 Paul tells us that in Christ we are set free from being slaves to our sinful nature. Did you get this? It’s incredible! If you have Christ as Lord of your life, you have been set free to live in the Spirit of God and not in the spirit of your sinful nature. You are no longer a salve to you sinful nature - to your struggle, but a free man in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Jesus said that if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed (John 8:36). So you are no longer slaves, but free men. Free to live in the power and the Spirit of God, the one who set you free!

Second, you don’t have to let that struggle defeat you. I have to admit that I lose to my struggle at times. My struggle, you ask? Lust and pornography. I flirted with pornography while I was living the life of an ungodly man. Let me tell you something, that stuff stays with you for years. It’s one battle that will not let go. Just when I think I’ve got it conquered, something happens and the temptations come at me like a tsunami. So I struggle and battle and sometimes scratch and claw my way through the enemy. I don’t always win as anyone with a life-struggle knows.
But I do know this - God is in control and He has given me the Spirit of love, of power, and self discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). I don’t have to let my struggles rule over me. They don’t have to have control and conquer me. Everyday I wake up I know that God is in control and the power He gave Jesus is also mine to overcome, to win, to be a victor. And through my faith in Jesus I can overcome. I can live a life of victory. (1 John 5:4-5)

Each morning when our feet hit the floor we should be giving our battle to the Lord. Asking Him to fill us with His Spirit, His power, His love, His desire for us to be more than conquerors. We need to stop being prepared for the battle and suit up the first thing every morning. The very morning you forget to prepare will be the morning the enemy will win.

So go live the victorious life. Don’t give in to your struggles. I know the battle can be tough, but you don’t fight alone.

Your comrade in arms,

Mike