Many times we become frustrated as we battle the flesh that we live in. We have a desire to live a life of holiness and purity, yet we fail in our attempts to bring our flesh under control. The Apostle Paul said he had the same struggle.
Romans 7:18-20 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
It is a common problem that all of God’s children deal with on a regular basis, trying to do the right thing, yet falling short many times. Our fleshly desires are very strong and the flesh and the spirit seem to be in constant conflict. So, how do we get this flesh under control? Truth is we can’t!
Rather than attempting to beat down our flesh, we need to yield to the Spirit. The Spirit of God in us will keep us on track, as we yield to the Spirit our flesh loses it’s control over us.
Galatians 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
We spend so much time fighting the flesh in our flesh, that we fail to see that the path to victory is through walking in the Spirit. Having a walk in close relationship with God is the key to not giving into our fleshly lusts. The two go contrary to each other.
As we go through our day and feel the pull of our flesh taking us in a wrong direction; we need to get in touch with the Spirit of God that dwells in us and walk with him. As we do, we will experience more victories than losses, and we will do the things that we desire to do having the Lord with us! Defeat the flesh today by walking in the Spirit.