“Fine. I’ll take care of it myself.” With a clipped tone, I ended the conversation and snapped my cell phone shut. Realizing I had done the very thing I had not wanted to do, my frustration increased. Not 30 minutes earlier, I had shared with a friend how God was teaching me to trust my husband’s heart rather than reacting. But here I was again. Would I ever learn?
Scripture tells us that as long as we are alive on this earth, two desires will battle inside us (Galatians 5:17). Through His death on the cross, Jesus destroyed sin’s power over us. But our struggle with sin doesn’t end when we receive salvation (Romans 7:18). Jesus made it clear to His disciples that obedience and surrender are daily decisions (Luke 9:23).
Trying to convince us that we’re going nowhere fast, the enemy tells us we’ll never be free. See, he’ll whisper, nothing has changed. God’s power isn’t real in your life. Ashamed and angry at ourselves for doing things we shouldn’t, we wonder if his lies are true.
We can’t overcome our sin nature on our own. Salvation comes only by grace (Ephesians 2:8). However, when I choose His grace, my life no longer belongs to me. Galatians 2:20 says, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” I gain the ability to overcome temptation when—by grace—I yield my flesh to Christ and He lives through me (Romans 6:6-8).
God’s Word promises freedom. But we can’t walk where we haven’t chosen to go. We will either feed or crucify our flesh. A spiritually dead person has chosen to reject the freedom and life found in Jesus.
More:
• Romans 8:12-14
• Galatians 2:20
• Colossians 2:12-14
Next:
In what ways are you feeding your flesh? How will you “crucify” it and choose to follow Jesus instead?
cynthiatoy3 on October 26, 2009 at 8:35 am
I can really relate to this writing because daily I am fighting with my husband. I promise myselft that I will not argue with him and I find myself doing just that. It is so hard to daily let my flesh die down. I know there is a battle going on between the good and evil, and I pray the good will overcome.
tcarr89 on September 20, 2011 at 8:50 pm
“Trying to convince us that we’re going nowhere fast, the enemy tells us we’ll never be free. See, he’ll whisper, nothing has changed. God’s power isn’t real in your life. Ashamed and angry at ourselves for doing things we shouldn’t, we wonder if his lies are true.” For sure.
But I have a question – I just recently came across this devo and realized I was deceiving myself, trying to follow Jesus but hanging on to my life. So what happened in the years between making my initial commitment and now? If I didn’t crucify my Self, does that mean God never came into my life? Is the weight of all my sins still hanging over me? and what are some practical ways to crucify the flesh besides fasting?
Thanks