There is a battle going on within. The battle within, is a fierce battle and we are faced with this battle often. We can make ourselves stronger within, or we can destroy ourselves from within. “The toughest battle you’ll ever fight in your life is the battle within yourself.”
Jesse Owens stated, “The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself, the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us, that’s where it's at.”
Apostle Paul wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 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” (Romans 7:15-19).
I am so very hard on myself. There is always a battle going on within me. There is the “Can Do Me” and there is the “I Can’t Do It Me.” I call the “Can Do Me," the Big Me, and the “I Can’t Do It," the little Me. The Little Me is negative and doubtful, and the Big Me is positive and full of confidence. I have to fight very hard for the Big Me.
For us Christians, we need to allow the Big Me to take over when doubt and uncertainty creeps in.
Scripture makes it clear that there is a warfare going on inside of every Believer. Why? Because there are two natures inside us battling to sit on the throne of our lives. The first nature is the one that comes with natural birth.
When we are self-centered, self-absorbed, self-focused, and we desire to be self-ruled. But when by grace, through faith, we are raised from the dead to life, we are given a new nature that begins to do battle with the old. It is through our regeneration that the battle begins, setting up the fight of the new nature, with the old nature.
That’s why the Bible tells us to “live by the Spirit” and we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other. We must remember that our new nature is absolutely perfect in Christ. It is spotless, blameless, and righteous. It is incapable of sinning because it is the nature of God.
It’s easy to figure out which of our two natures will gain the upper hand, in the war within. It is the one we feed. If we are more focused on the things of this world, our sinful nature will get the upper hand. But if you keep your eyes fixed on the things that are above, our new nature will win the prize.
So, there you have it! Let’s starve the Little Me and feed the Big Me. When we focus on things above, we will rise above the battle within and allow God to feed our souls. With God, we are always on the winning team. WINNING!
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