"The Battle Within"

Here is a verse I relate to all too much...

Romans 7: 7- 25

The Law and Sin

 ⁷ What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”^{[b] 8} But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. ⁹ Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. ¹¹ For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. ¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.  ¹³ Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
 ¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
 ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
   So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature^[d] a slave to the law of sin. 

This battle within wears me out. It makes me tired and it just flat out makes me sick to my stomach. My sin seems to always be right there with me and my sinful nature seems to be so much bigger than it should be. I am reminded of an old axiom, about the two dogs. Both are hungry, but there is only one meal to be divided between the two of them. The one who consistently gets the lions share gets bigger and the other smaller....the story is often used to remind us to 'feed the big dog' and not the small one...the big dog should be our spiritual side and the little dog should be our sinful nature. We feed the big dog by prayer, bible study, etc. and we starve the little dog by confession, repentance, etc....Great in theory, but why is it so hard? Why do I have so much pity on the little dog? Not really, but it sure looks that way. And sometimes it feels that way as well. It seems like no matter how much I want to do good, evil is right there. I am so glad the above scripture is in the bible, but it helps me to see how much Paul related to our struggle. Sure he was a super apostle and sure he the greatest proclaimer of the gospel this side of Jesus, but he struggled with sin. And I guess that is the rub....struggle. To struggle, the dictionary says is to contend with an adversary or opposing force; to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive: to struggle for existence; to advance with violent effort; to struggle through the snow.

I love this! For years, the term 'struggling with sin' has had negative connotations but really, in view of the definition of struggle, shouldn't we all be struggling with sin?!? To advance with violent effort...that is what I have to do! So what is the reality in all of this....if you see the struggle and you are aware of it, engaged in it, and are fighting to do the 'good you know you ought to do', then that is half the battle. The other half is embracing the One who will bring us victory...'Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!' How great is that! One of the ongoing jokes in our church is that the answer that the kids in our church give to every spiritual question is 'Jesus!'...It this case the answer is 'Jesus'!
He is the warrior that goes before us in our battle. He is the muscle bound guy with the big claymore, mounted on the white steed, face covered in war paint, charging ahead to clash with Satan and his demons at the battle line for our soul...I am so glad he is on my side!!!

How do I get out of this funk...how do I win this struggle against the foe of sin that has haunted and bullied me from the age of accountability??? I must grab on to the robe of the almighty... 

¹³ The LORD will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. - Isaiah 42:13

As the old song says...hold to God's unchanging hand...