Why Do I Struggle?
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)
Okay, I agree with the Bibles teachings, you say; but I have a hard time doing the things I know to be right. Why do I struggle?
If you can relate to this scenario, then congratulations; youre human! And when I say human, I mean flesh and blood human. The fact is all of us at one point or another, and pretty much daily, struggle to one degree or another.
So whats up? Why do we struggle so much? Are we slow to learn, or just plain lazy or what?
Truth be told, its all part of the process of our human makeup. Let me explain. To fully understand just who and what we are, we need to look at God, and who and what He is. The reason why we need to do this is because we were made in His image, and in His likeness.
Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness& Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
Man was designed in the image of God. Since God is a TrinityFather, Son and Holy Spirit; He created man in a lesser Trinity.
Man is composed of three parts; you can call it an inferior trinity.
1.He is Spirit, that is the deepest part of you---the real you!
2.He is Soul, That is your mind and emotionsYour personality
3.He is Body. Thats the temporary tent you live inYour flesh!
So the struggle occurs within our soul, which is our mind or consciousness. You see our body, or flesh wants to feed its needs, and desires to walk in the ways of the world, and our Spirit wants to feed its needs and desires to walk in unity with God.
So, the end result is these two (The flesh and the Spirit) are in a constant state of battle, fighting for control over our mind. Whoever has the greatest influence on the mind, causes the flesh to walk according to its desires.
Q;So, we must ask ourselves, Which one is controlling me?
A:The answer is whichever one you are feeding.
You see, when we think on the things of the flesh, such as what to eat, drink or what clothes we are going to wear, then we will simply walk in the flesh, attempting to fill those needs. Jesus actually tells us not to be thinking about these things.
So dont worry about these things, saying, What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Matthew 6:31-32 (NKJV)
Focusing on the flesh isnt just about these things either; it is anything the flesh desires. Bottom line is, we need to take control of what we allow our mind to think upon. When we think upon the spiritual things; the things of God, such as His Word, and all those things contained within it, we will allow the Spirit to control what the body does.
"We will find ourselves wanting the very things God wants for us.
"We will find our desires will be the very desires He wants to fill within our lives.
"We will find our actions will be the very actions He wants us to act upon.
Every one of us face struggles through the temptations of our flesh. It is not a hopeless struggle, because as Christians, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome each temptation we face.
Our responsibility is to watch and Pray. We need to keep our eyes on God, and not on the things of this world. We need to continually pray to God to help us in our strength, wisdom, and discernment.
We now need to decide what we will think upon, because this is what will determine how much we struggle, and whom we end up serving. Hey Christian, if the thought does not glorify God, then get rid of it. Dont keep thinking on it replace it with something good!
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
STUDY QUESTION: What does Jesus warn us about in Matthew 26:41? What are we told to think upon in Philippians 4:7?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Can you relate to your spirit being willing, but your flesh being weak? Can you see the fight between the spirit and flesh going on over your mind?
APPLICATION: Seek God in prayer constantly, then seek His Word and meditate upon these things. The Holy Spirit will give you the strength to win each of these battles, and to live a life full of victory.
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)
Okay, I agree with the Bibles teachings, you say; but I have a hard time doing the things I know to be right. Why do I struggle?
If you can relate to this scenario, then congratulations; youre human! And when I say human, I mean flesh and blood human. The fact is all of us at one point or another, and pretty much daily, struggle to one degree or another.
So whats up? Why do we struggle so much? Are we slow to learn, or just plain lazy or what?
Truth be told, its all part of the process of our human makeup. Let me explain. To fully understand just who and what we are, we need to look at God, and who and what He is. The reason why we need to do this is because we were made in His image, and in His likeness.
Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness& Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
Man was designed in the image of God. Since God is a TrinityFather, Son and Holy Spirit; He created man in a lesser Trinity.
Man is composed of three parts; you can call it an inferior trinity.
1.He is Spirit, that is the deepest part of you---the real you!
2.He is Soul, That is your mind and emotionsYour personality
3.He is Body. Thats the temporary tent you live inYour flesh!
So the struggle occurs within our soul, which is our mind or consciousness. You see our body, or flesh wants to feed its needs, and desires to walk in the ways of the world, and our Spirit wants to feed its needs and desires to walk in unity with God.
So, the end result is these two (The flesh and the Spirit) are in a constant state of battle, fighting for control over our mind. Whoever has the greatest influence on the mind, causes the flesh to walk according to its desires.
Q;So, we must ask ourselves, Which one is controlling me?
A:The answer is whichever one you are feeding.
You see, when we think on the things of the flesh, such as what to eat, drink or what clothes we are going to wear, then we will simply walk in the flesh, attempting to fill those needs. Jesus actually tells us not to be thinking about these things.
So dont worry about these things, saying, What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Matthew 6:31-32 (NKJV)
Focusing on the flesh isnt just about these things either; it is anything the flesh desires. Bottom line is, we need to take control of what we allow our mind to think upon. When we think upon the spiritual things; the things of God, such as His Word, and all those things contained within it, we will allow the Spirit to control what the body does.
"We will find ourselves wanting the very things God wants for us.
"We will find our desires will be the very desires He wants to fill within our lives.
"We will find our actions will be the very actions He wants us to act upon.
Every one of us face struggles through the temptations of our flesh. It is not a hopeless struggle, because as Christians, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome each temptation we face.
Our responsibility is to watch and Pray. We need to keep our eyes on God, and not on the things of this world. We need to continually pray to God to help us in our strength, wisdom, and discernment.
We now need to decide what we will think upon, because this is what will determine how much we struggle, and whom we end up serving. Hey Christian, if the thought does not glorify God, then get rid of it. Dont keep thinking on it replace it with something good!
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
STUDY QUESTION: What does Jesus warn us about in Matthew 26:41? What are we told to think upon in Philippians 4:7?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Can you relate to your spirit being willing, but your flesh being weak? Can you see the fight between the spirit and flesh going on over your mind?
APPLICATION: Seek God in prayer constantly, then seek His Word and meditate upon these things. The Holy Spirit will give you the strength to win each of these battles, and to live a life full of victory.
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