Tag: December 18 2024

Our Daily Walk with Christ Devotional – December 18, 2024

The Controversy of Good and Evil Produces Daily Internal Conflict and External Opposition: Every Day, Every Believer Faces Conflicts that Threaten Our Relationship with Christ

The Internal Conflict: “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.” —Romans 7:18-19

The Apostle Paul, a dedicated disciple, lamented his daily internal battle of choosing good [God’s will] over his evil desires. Our inherent weakness is to use our free will of choice to pursue what we want. From the moment we awaken, we face the daily test of faith. Will we seek and follow the will of God or pursue our desires? Even after our prayer of surrender, we still face temptations that threaten to overpower a steadfast commitment to God.

The Battle Raging Within: Deep within the human heart, we crave to pursue and fulfill our desires and plans. The world we live in feeds our insatiable urge for self-satisfaction by promoting worldly success as the solution to obtain peace and happiness. Every day, our senses are bombarded by stimuli and must-know information that our brains gather and store in our memory bank to feed the human desire to possess much more than God has blessed us with. And the internal struggle for self-governance is so strong that we easily disobey God without reservation.

God tells us that the condition of every human heart “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?…” (Jeremiah 17:9). Still, there is a marked difference between an unbeliever and a believer in the decision-making process of bringing their desires to fruition.

“But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don’t know what makes them stumble.” —Proverbs 4:19, CSB

Because the unbeliever’s life choices are always based on self-fulfillment, they strongly rely on their feelings, strategies, prior experience, the predictions and advice of financial strategists, and high-level advisory boards on economic and social affairs. Although they utilize careful planning and feel their insight includes predicting future outcomes, by trusting their intuition and the influencers, suffering consequences is a normal way of life. Their lives are always filled with chaos, prompting them to seek unproductive ways to purchase false replicas that mimic inner peace.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear [reverence] the Lord and depart from evil.” —Proverbs 3:5-7

Before the believer sins, we contemplate [with deep thoughts] for several days or longer before taking the steps to bring our plans to fruition. When our thoughts clash with God’s thoughts and plans, Divinity responds, and the Holy Spirit alerts us that we are taking a detour from the Path of Righteousness because our plans are outside of God’s will.

The Impact of the Holy Spirit: Not only is our conscience troubled, but we lose our inner peace, and feel as if we are involved in a tug of war that could manifest itself as a change in one’s emotional state—anxiety, the inability to sleep, or an internal restlessness. So the believer can never say, “I didn’t know what I planned to do was against God’s will.” If we ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit then we lose our right standing with God and are no longer traveling on the narrow road with Christ.

For those who strive to please God, our lives always involve the civil war of internal conflict. The Struggle is Real! [Instagram Reel]: As the young woman adamantly expressed her love for God, there was a sharp left turn as she spoke with strong conviction about her reasons for not trusting God with her life, “I need to be in control of my life, I cannot wait for things to work out without my input…” The story appeared to have a predictable end, but suddenly her self-confidence melted into tears streaming down her face, and the quality of her voice changed. The next spoken words revealed a voice quivering with emotion, “What am I saying? How can I not trust God who has rescued me from bad situations and is still taking care of me?”

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” —Hebrews 4:16, NIV

In our times of greatest conflict over the inability to fully surrender to God, Christ intervenes by allowing the Holy Spirit to touch our conscience and make us aware of God’s love versus our heart’s misguided feelings. This spiritual experience is often referred to as “An Invitation to Come to Jesus.”

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” —1 John 1:19

A New Heart and Spirit: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances…” —Ezekiel 36:26-27

The External Controversy: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” —Ephesians 6:12

Satan, the “Roaring Lion” is the fallen angel Lucifer who God created as the highest covering cherub to be in His presence. Cast down to earth for his rebellion against God, Satan’s angelic intelligence still supersedes human intelligence. The Fall of humanity in Genesis 3 is our reminder of Satan’s superior intellectual powers over the human mind.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” —1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…’ ” —2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV

Jesus reminds us that He is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory! Satan can present temptation but he cannot coerce us to sin against God. We pray for Divine Help, and Jesus responds by giving us His Strength through the Holy Spirit to overcome the external opposition of satanic temptations.

“For God has not given you the spirit of fear but of love power and a sound mind self-control” (1 Timothy 1:7). Yes, we have received spiritual gifts, but from Eve’s encounter with the serpent [whom Satan used to deceive her], we have Biblical evidence that without Christ, we are powerless to overcome temptation and obey God using human effort alone.

“And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” —John 8:29

Can you imagine living a life of total obedience to God? Much prayer is required to gain victory over ourselves and the tempter. Obedience is our highest worship to God. Christ gave His life to save us from our battle against sin. If we desire eternal life then striving to live holy is within our reach. When tempted, we pray for and receive Jesus’ spiritual empowerment and exert self-control to overcome the enemy’s strategy to separate us from God.

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” —Psalm 37:23-24

We do not have to fall victim to the entrapments of sin nor can circumstances overcome us when we abide in Christ. Prayer and Bible study keep us grounded in Jesus who promises to give us direction in every aspect of our journey. We are loved by God, the Father who utilizes the heavenly angels to also protect us from the evil one. But not even God will interfere with our free will of choice.

God is the Giver of all good gifts and the Sustainer of our lives. Reflect deeply on your privilege of being a recipient of God’s love, grace, and mercies. Humanity is the only living creation that Christ died for and needs to be covered with His Righteousness to live victoriously.

“It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.” —Isaiah 65:24

Christ’s spiritual provisions include His Divine Strength to overcome our natural tendency to follow our heart’s desires. With consecration, prayer, and fasting, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey the will of God. Under God’s protection, our prayer for help is answered before we say, Amen. And for His love, faithfulness, and protection against internal conflict and external opposition, with gratitude, we shout, Hallelujah and Amen!

Lord God, we pray for the strength to stand down our desires that prevail against Your will. We ask for the blessing of wisdom, and discernment to recognize Satan’s strategic temptations, and pray for Your intervention when facing internal conflict and external opposition. We desire to live holy, acceptable, and obedient lives because we love You. In Jesus’ Loving and Powerful Name, we pray, Amen.

© 2024 STEPS 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions Ministry