If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you probably realize that you are in a battle, a tug-of-war on the inside to do what’s pleasing to God or succumb to your carnal, fleshly impulses. If you are like me…human…and honest with yourself, some days it feels like you are winning the battle over your flesh and other times, it appears as if you have taken 3 steps backward, feeling overwhelmed and defeated because you keep giving in to the same temptation. It’s with this battle in mind that I’m writing to encourage you not to give up. Don’t beat yourself up or live in a cloud of discouragement or condemnation because you are not as far along as you think you should be. There is hope. God has an amazing plan and purpose for you. He knew every mistake you would make, yet still chose you! You are not done or washed up. He will help you overcome every obstacle, so you can step into the fullness of your divine destiny. You’ve not made too many mistakes. The key is, with God’s help, to outlast the enemy and his lies. The Christian life takes time to develop and mature. With God’s supernatural assistance and an understanding of how the enemy works, you will grow in victory little by little. Over time, you will look back and be amazed at what God has done and how far you’ve actually come. So what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in and learn how you can live the overcoming life.
You Are In A Battle
As Believers in Jesus Christ, we are in a battle – a real battle between good and evil that rages inside all of us. It’s the desire to do what’s right in God’s sight, which is a life being led by His Holy Spirit, and the struggle to yield to the sinful impulses that lurk deep within. The Bible says in Galatians 5:16-17 AMP,
“But I say, walk habitually in the Holy Spirit, seek Him and be responsive to His guidance, and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature, which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts. For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the desire of the Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these two, the sinful nature and the Spirit, are in direct opposition to each other, continually in conflict, so that you as believers do not always do whatever good things you want to do.”
Can you see? The Bible talks about this very struggle within each of us. Sometimes we submit to God’s Spirit, but other times we don’t. We choose to do what are flesh is telling us to do.
These two opposing forces are at war within us each and every moment of the day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. God’s desire is that we grow and mature as Christians, developing character traits that resemble His nature and that we learn to be led by His Holy Spirit verses our flesh. The book of Romans teaches us that the children of God are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14). This means that God actually wants to guide our lives and lead us into the good things He has created us to do.
Our Minds Need Renewed If We Are To Hear From God And Fulfill Our Purpose
So how can we learn to recognize God’s voice or promptings when our flesh is screaming at us to comply to its evil desires? It all starts in our mind.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2 NIV).
If we are going to hear from God accurately and discover His plan for us, our minds need renewed by the truth of God’s word. As we allow the Word of God to take root in our hearts and as we spend time meditating on the truths we have learned from it, we will begin to discern God’s ways and plan from the lies of the enemy or our own flesh. For example, if I am driving to work and someone cuts me off, the first thing I may want to do is get upset and try to get back at the driver. That’s my flesh talking to me. But if I take a deep breath and ask God what I should do, I hear a gentle impression in my spirit, a still small voice, “Be kind. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Show him mercy as I have shown you mercy. Pray for your enemies.” Because I have developed a relationship with God and know the Word of God, I realize that God isn’t asking me to fly off the cuff and give this driver a piece of my mind. Instead, I recognize that God is asking me to take the high road and be gracious to this person. Do you see the difference? It’s easy for our flesh to react to situations. God, on the other hand, wants us to respond to His Spirits leading. This happens when our minds are renewed. Then we can test what God’s will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will is.
Proverbs 23:7a AMP says, “For as he (a person) thinks in his heart, so is he.”
The devil and his demonic agents work overtime planting and sowing negative thoughts into our minds, trying to develop strongholds that will get us stuck or off course from fulfilling our purpose. He is the Father of Lies. If he can get us to think on wrong things, our thoughts eventually become our actions. That’s why it’s so important to know truth from God’s word and take inventory of what we are thinking on. Again, the more time we spend in God’s word and in prayer, the easier it will be to recognize the lies we have come to believe. Then we can replace these lies with truth.
We Have A Helper
The good news is we are not on our own. God has given us His Holy Spirt as a helper, a counselor, a comforter and a strengthener for the journey of life. The Bible says,
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. And He, when He comes, will convict the world about [the guilt of] sin [and the need for a Savior], and about righteousness, and about judgment” (John 16:7-8 AMP).
The Holy Spirit walks with us every step of the way, encouraging us when we fall down, giving us wisdom in difficult situations and encouraging us when trials seem bleak and overwhelming. So lean in and ask for His help! He is ever ready to support you and direct your steps.
The Holy Spirit Helps Us Overcome Strongholds
One job of the Holy Spirit is to reveal strongholds to us that have taken root in our minds. Strongholds are negative patterns of thinking we have come to believe about ourselves, others, our future and about life that aren’t true. Strongholds are false beliefs that affect our attitudes, emotions and our behaviors and can ultimately impact, not only us, but our families, coworkers and anyone that we come into contact with. Thankfully, God has given us divine weapons to combat and tear down these negative mindsets, so we can live in victory in every area of our lives and fulfill the amazing plan God has destined for us as His children.
“For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4 AMP).
The Holy Spirit will reveal truth to us regarding ourselves, others and our situation, helping us discern between truth and the lies we have come to believe. As an adolescent, I was a late bloomer. I didn’t hit my growth spurt until I was 16 years old. My voice still hadn’t changed yet, which caused me to develop lots of insecurities, especially as it related to my voice. I hated it. In fact, I became extremely shy and timid because of these lies. And sadly, I carried these negative thoughts into adulthood, which negatively impacted me from being my true self. One day in my early 20’s, God spoke to me deep on the inside, “Cory, I am pleased with whom I made you.” It wasn’t out loud, but in my spirit. God gently and graciously began to expose a stronghold in my thinking. I believed lots of lies about myself and it was affecting me and keeping me from experiencing the wonderful plan God had created me for! I came to believe lies that I wasn’t good enough and that my voice was trash. I wanted to be someone else. The truth was, God doesn’t make junk and He was pleased with whom He made. I was created in His image and He wanted me to grab a hold of this truth. Over time, my voice had deepened, but I still carried these insecurities and strongholds into adulthood. I still hated getting in front of people to speak because people would have to listen to my voice even though, deep on the inside, I knew God was asking me to preach and speak in front of people for Him. In order for me to break free from these strongholds, I had to confront the lies with God’s help and with truth from His Word.
Jesus used the Word of God to speak back against the lies Satan was trying to tempt Him with (see Matthew 4:1-11). Every time Satan spoke a half-truth to Jesus, we see that Jesus spoke the truth from God’s Word back to him, defeating his lies. And we should do the same.
Understanding this truth from God’s Word helped me. Every time those lies came flooding into my mind, I spoke back to the Devil with the answers God taught me, “God doesn’t make trash. I am made in His image and He is pleased with whom He made me to be, including my voice.” Today, I travel all over the U.S. speaking for Destiny Rescue, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing children from sexual slavery. God helped me pull down these strongholds so I could step into my purpose and destiny! And God will help you do the same. Are there thoughts you are thinking on that need replaced with truth?
What You Think On Matters
Take inventory of what you are thinking on throughout your day. Are they good, uplifting, victorious thoughts or thoughts of defeat, negativity and destruction? The Bible says,
“Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]” (Philippians 4:8 AMP).
When negative thoughts invade our minds like lust, selfishness, hatred, envy, unforgiveness…etc., instead of pulling up a chair and watching the movie screen in our minds, we can change the channel so to speak. Or when strongholds or lies that have controlled us for a long time have been exposed for what they are, we can take these thoughts captive and replace them with truth. We have had lots of practice letting our carnal minds do whatever they want. Thinking on carnal thoughts is easy. But today is a new day. We become what we think on, so it’s vitally important if we are going to mature as Christians and live victoriously, to not let carnal thoughts dominate our thinking anymore. If they do, our actions will soon follow. Our minds are the battlefield and the Devil knows it. That’s why the Apostle Paul compels us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5).
Before we gave our lives to Christ, we were held captive to these carnal desires that dominated our thoughts. Whatever came into our minds, we just did. But when we got born again (placing our trust in Christ), God gave us a new nature, one that is responsive to Him and sensitive to the things that honor Him (see Titus 3:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:22-24). The Bible says,
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).
God has even given us the power and desire to do what pleases Him. So when we say things like, “I can’t overcome this struggle” or “The temptation is too great; I will be this way the rest of my life”, we are choosing to come into agreement with lies. Having these negative attitudes take root in our minds will keep us in bondage and defeat. Remember, what we think on, we become. A better approach would be to say,
“God, your Word says that You will provide a way out when I am being tempted. Help me recognize that way out and choose it. Thank you that in Christ I have victory and You have given me the power to overcome every temptation, every stronghold and every lie that sets itself up against you and the truth. And thank you that your mercies are new every morning when I fall short of your standard. I receive your forgiveness. I trust that You are at work in me and you are faithful to complete the work you started in me. Help me not quit and give up, but trust you as you direct my steps one day at a time. And help me be patient with myself as you are patient with me. In Jesus Name amen.”
Be Patient With Yourself. Maturity Happens Over Time, Not Instantaneously
Now here is where a lot of Christians have trouble. They want instant victory and instant maturity. Unfortunately, maturing as a Christian takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient with yourself as God transforms you little by little. The Bible says,
“…but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 AMP).
The very second we place our trust in Jesus Christ, we are made right with God; our past, present and future sin has been paid for. That’s the amazing good news of the gospel. Christ did what we couldn’t do on our own. And now that we have been given this wonderful privilege of being in right relationship with God, God wants to lead us and help us grow into His likeness. In other words, He wants us to develop character traits that model His nature. The Bible teaches us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23). As we journey with God, He will help us cultivate this fruit in our lives little by little.
Here is the challenge: we won’t do this Christian life perfectly. We will make mistakes along the way as we are conformed more and more to Christ’s likeness. If you think for a moment about a toddler, when he begins to start walking, he falls many times. But he doesn’t stay down; he gets back up again and again…and again. And the same should be true for us as we grow in maturity in Christ. It takes time! So when you fall down, dust yourself off, receive God’s mercy, which is new every morning, and get back up!
The legendary Apostle Paul, the one who wrote most of the New Testament, said,
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I 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. For 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…For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 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. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:15-25 NIV).
The Apostle Paul was in a wrestling match. Sometimes his sinful nature got the best of him. Other times he learned to resist those cravings, submitting to God’s Spirit. It was a journey to wholeness, maturity and victory for him, and the same will be true for us. Along the way, we, just like the Apostle Paul, will need God’s grace and mercy. The Apostle Paul wrote in the next chapter of Romans,
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2 NIV).
Again, as I mentioned before, the key to the Christian life is to get back up when you fall down, dust yourself off and keep growing and learning. The Bible says,
“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again” (Proverbs 24:16a).
Don’t listen another day to the condemning lies of the enemy. He wants nothing more than for you to sit on the sidelines of life licking your wounds. Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price on the cross so you could experience freedom and receive the wonderful promises that are rightfully yours as a son or daughter of the Most-High God.
“For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment]” (Hebrews 4:15-16 AMP).
Not all of our decisions or our behaviors are right, but we are right with God. Our righteousness isn’t based off of our performance or effort; it is based off the finished work of Jesus Christ. He paid the ultimate price for sin, bridging the gap and putting us in right standing with Himself. And because of His righteousness, we can boldly go to the throne of God and talk with Him about whatever is on our mind, the mistakes we have made and the challenges we are facing. And we can ask Him for His help. He is listening with attentive ears and His arms are wide open to meet you in your weaknesses. So don’t let another second go by living in condemnation. God loves you and believes in you. And He is pleased with you, even if He isn’t thrilled with every decision you make. He is pleased with you! You have been made in His image, an image-bearer of God. Start putting your shoulders back and holding your head up high. You are a son…a daughter of the Most-High God. He is ready to help you overcome every battle and struggle you face. You are victorious in Him. When lies come telling you that you will never make it or you will never succeed, speak back to those lies. In Christ you are more than a conqueror. And He who began the good work in you is faithful to complete it. So don’t give up! The battle within is real, but greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Little by little you, from glory to glory, you will take ground and live out the overcoming, victorious life Jesus died to give you.
