Devotional: The Fight Within

The Fight Within

Recently, a friend of mine was feeling a bit condemned because she had struggled with thoughts of quitting something that was in her best interest. She hadn't quit, but was still mad at herself for even entertaining the thoughts. I reminded her that she was a three-part being. The Bible says we are "...spirit, soul, and body..." (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The body is the house where our spirit and soul reside. The spirit is that part which is born-again and in contact with God; and the soul is the realm of our mind, will and emotions. She was feeling guilty over the thought of quitting, when in reality, those thoughts were simply the conversation between her soul and spirit. I enthusiastically reminded her that her spirit had won because she hadn't quit.

The Apostle Paul said, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:16-17). In other words, when the flesh (or we could say, your soul) is in spiritual warfare with your spirit, one or the other is going to win; but not both.

I guess we could compare it to being pregnant with fraternal twins. Inside of every believer, there are two identities and they are completely opposite of one another. It would help us to picture these two constantly fighting and warring with each another until one finally submits. Over time, the one which is strongest will become dominant while the weaker one becomes compliant and even docile. The word "docile" simply means something that is readily trained or taught. If the spirit of a man becomes the dominant identity, this is good. This means the flesh nature of the man has become compliant and even readily trained to submit.

However, if these are reversed and the flesh, or soul, is the dominant identity, this can be bad. Instead of being spirit-led, that person is controlled by their mind, will, and emotions. It's the reason Paul said, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do" (Romans 7:15). The very emotions and decisions made by the flesh are like a boomerang that turn on you, and what felt good at the moment, now breed guilt and condemnation. Why? Because the flesh lusts against the spirit and the two are contrary to one another.

People often wonder, "Well, how will I know if I'm in the flesh or in the spirit?" The Bible gives us a full-proof test. Galatians 5:22-23 says, "Now the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." If a person can recognize these in operation in their life, that is proof of being led by their spirit. However, if there is a LACK of these, that is proof of being led by the flesh.

And of all the fruits of the spirit, self-control is the one we must pay attention to the most because all the others will be in check if we keep this one in check. Self-control simply means you are allowing the real you on the inside to call all the shots. We could call it "spirit-controlled." In other words, when our mind, will, and emotions are fighting us, the battle will be won when we allow our spirit to call the shots. The problem is that just like twins in a mother's womb must be fed through the umbilical cord, the flesh and the spirit are hungry also. Whichever one we choose to feed the most will be the stronger of the two.

People are often discouraged because when they want to do good, they can't seem to. In that case, it would be good to ask, "What have you been feeding your spirit lately?" My friend was frustrated with the fight within her. But she didn't realize she must have been feeding her spirit enough to be the winner of that fight and therefore, her condemnation was unnecessary. For "there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). The bottom line is: feed your spirit... win the fight.