Scripture to Read: Romans 7:21
There is this lingering in our hearts each day between choosing what is right and choosing what is wrong. As followers of Christ, we know we want to honor our Lord in all we do, but there are times that we don’t, as God continues to use Paul to share the struggle in Romans 7:21, I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. As we have examined the battlefield within us all, we have discovered that even as Christians, we must choose daily between submitting to our “flesh” or staying surrendered to the Holy Spirit in us. God reminds us today that evil dwells within our “flesh,” even though we want to make the right choices. God knows that our “flesh” is evil because He gives us warnings, as Christians, of things we must not do to stay in right fellowship with Him. Note that we’re not talking about our relationship with God through Christ because our relationship NEVER changes. When we became His child by surrendering to Christ as our Lord, we were sealed by Him through His Holy Spirit who lives in us. But our fellowship with our Lord depends on us choosing to pursue Him and His Word daily. God warns us not to grieve or quench His Spirit (Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19), which means we are capable of doing both through the evil in our “flesh” (Galatians 5:16–17, Romans 13:14, Ephesians 2:3). We can choose right over wrong, but we must choose.
Challenge & Application
Why do we struggle so much with our “flesh,” and what must we do to overcome our “flesh?”
How have you been tempted to quench and grieve God’s Spirit in you, and how have you overcome the temptation?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!