Devotional:

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For 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.” — Romans 7:15-20

We’ve all said it; “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I stop doing _____?” Or what about this prayer: “God, I promise I’ll never do that again if _____?”

Habitual sin. We all have something in our lives that we’ve struggled with. A habit, an addiction, an obsession, a bad relationship…they say it takes 21 days to form a good habit or break a bad one. Well, I could argue that statement over and over just from my own bad habits I’ve faced in life. But if there’s truth to it. I do pray that these 21 days of devotionals help to form a good habit for all of us to keep carrying on!

So why do we keep going back? It is the ultimate form of self-condemnation, self-pity, self-victimization, self-judgement and self-abuse and yet, we can’t help ourselves. That, my friends, is not the power of the Holy Spirit working. That is the power of Satan at the helm of your ship, steering you in circles like a one-legged duck. The battle is raging and even though our souls have what it takes to win the battle, our sinful flesh remains weak and sometimes wins. So how do we fight it?

If I had a magical answer that would end all of the one-legged duck behavior, I’d be a billionaire. I don’t have that. But I do have something far more powerful than all the money in the world. Hope in Christ, no condemnation in Christ, and lots of mercy and grace. Though sometimes it doesn’t feel like it in the moment, His grace is enough. We just have to believe it. That’s hard to do, even as Christ followers.

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” — Matthew 26:41

Jesus said this to His disciples after He found them asleep in the garden the night before Jesus’s arrest. All He asked for was one hour of watch so that He could go pray to His Father in those last hours of His life here on earth.

Before that verse, Jesus says “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation…”. One word from Jesus sums it all up. “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Think about the moments you become tempted and slide back into sin. Are you “watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation”? I doubt it. Me either. I know that those moments in my life are typically not when I am choosing to be close to God.

In two seconds, my mind can become set on the things of the flesh and not on the spirit. It just becomes a spiral of all these self-deprecating, self-damning and self-accusing thoughts and actions. It leads me to ultimate failure in what I’m trying to control on my own, knowing that for the millionth time, it’s still not working.

Then I mumble to myself “Gretchen, what the heck is wrong with you…why are you so weak…why can’t you stop!?” It is because I don’t believe in the power of the that It doesn’t say “watch and pray maybe you may not enter into sin” or “watch and pray sometimes you may not enter into sin,” it says that! And in the verse “that” is a conjunction explaining a result.

The result is: THAT if you watch and pray, you will not fall into those temptations. Jesus has control of all the good and the bad in our lives. We just have to let Him into those slippery areas where our weaknesses are too strong.

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” — Romans 8:6

Sometimes it seems like our weak flesh is so powerful, even to the point that it feels as if it is controlling and bleeding into every other area of our lives. It can be a daily struggle in so many ways. There is a battle of powers between the spirit and the flesh that is swirling around inside us. Good vs evil, lies vs truth, temporary satisfaction vs contentment, rebellion vs obedience. Those things are what we fight against because our flesh is what remains of our sinful nature.

The good news is that the flesh we live in now will remain here when we are finally united with Christ in Heaven. That flesh will be thrown in the fiery pit with Satan…he can have it! We will receive a new flesh, perfect and pure. No more temptations, no more negative thoughts and no more screw-ups. But, until then, we must know how to fight it.

Realize the battle isn’t going to be easy. No battle is! We must show ourselves a little grace for those times when we do give in to the flesh. Who are we to condemn ourselves if Jesus Christ himself has chosen not to condemn us?

“There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” — Romans 8:1-2

Take your eyes off the things of this world and fix your eyes on Jesus. We cannot simultaneously love the world and love the Father. Until we realize that, the flesh will always win and Satan will continue to conquer those areas in our lives.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” — 1 John 2:15-17

Your flesh must die so that you will live. When we deny our flesh those things that are destroying us, we choose life that is greater than anything in this world. Our earthly flesh will die with this world and we will receive a new flesh. Yet, at times, we can treat it as if it is the most important part of who we are.

Saying no to the flesh may mean giving up the things that seem important, satisfying or necessary in the moment. In Christ, we have the power to overcome all the temporary satisfactions of this world.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13

“He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” — 1 John 4:4

Action steps:

1. Devote yourself to God’s Word. There are typically times in our day that are more tempting than others when it comes to the repeated cycles of bad habits and sin. Choose those moments to sit down and open His Word and meditate on it. God isn’t interested in our ritualistic reading of the Bible. He wants us to use it as our weapon to destroy these sins, memorize it, believe it, live it out and know that the Word of God is our answer to everything. (Psalm 119:105)
2. Write it down. Writing out my feelings and prayers to God about my struggles is a great way for me to meditate on His Word and to talk to Him. I’m much better on paper than I am with my words, and I can express in writing sometimes things that I could not express out loud. It is also something that you can look back on later and reflect on how God has answered you, challenged you or made you stronger through all of it.
   
   Pray that these things become healthy habits that take the place of bad ones. I’m so thankful David wrote down his struggles, fears, praises and cries to his Heavenly Father in the Psalms. It is such a comfort and blessing to me.
3. Set an alarm to pray. Set an alarm several times throughout the day to pray and seek His wisdom and to ask for His strength as you walk out the struggles in your life. Maybe those alarms can be strategically set at times that you know you are most vulnerable to the weaknesses in your life. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
4.  Say no to your flesh. Sometimes, we just have to say no, completely turning from the thing that is causing the sin. For some of us that could mean giving up your golf trips, you know, the ones that lead you to the strip clubs? Or finding a new Bible study group because the one you’re in is just a two-hour gossip session. Or maybe you have to end a relationship that is causing you to fall into sexual sin. Maybe you realize you can’t casually have alcohol in your home because you cannot resist having multiple glasses of wine every night. (Romans 13:14)
5. Don’t keep it in the dark. Gross things grow in the dark. We all know that, but it is hard to bring the ugly things in our lives up to the ones we love and trust for fear that it might change the way they think about us. But, if we are to walk in the light, how can there be any darkness within us? Find someone to talk to. Ask them to hold you accountable, to pray for you and with you and to walk with you through these burdens of the flesh. (1 Peter 5:9, 1 John 1:7)
6. Don’t be surprised when you mess up. I know it is easier said than done. And because of our human nature, we will have moments of conquering the battle between the spirit and flesh and moments of losing the battle. And be on guard.
   
   Satan will turn it up a notch when we begin to resist his temptations and whispers. But when we draw closer to God and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we will start to see those things fade and become small in comparison to Jesus. Eventually, Satan will catch on because ultimately, he knows his battle is lost. He will move on to the next victim with all his fury and might. (James 4:7)
   
   Bottom line: Satan is a fraud, murderer, tempter, accuser and master of lies. He is the reason we “have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)
   
   We have the weapons to fight the battle between flesh and spirit, good and evil. And we will be fighting until our last breath is breathed on earth. We must use every weapon against the enemy who is trying to create a barrier between us and our Heavenly Father. (Revelation 20:10)

We know the battle is won and Jesus has claimed victory over Satan. But until that day of reckoning comes, the enemy will try to bring as many of us down with him as he can. That is why we keep fighting.  

God, we know that You have won the battle and that Satan has no victory over us. But our flesh is weak and we need You to remind us of Your steadfast love and grace when we fall. Jesus, pick us up and stay close to us so that we can turn from sin and turn to You. Jesus, stand between me and Satan so that he cannot get a foothold in my life. Help me to say no to my flesh and replace the lies of Satan with Your truth. The only truth. Amen.