START FROM WITHIN

“For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” – Romans 7:18

In Romans 7:18 Paul recognised that in him; in his flesh was nothing good. Have you taken time to identify what is in you, what weaknesses are in you, what negative attitudes and wrong thoughts are in you, what inner fears are in you, what myths and misconceptions lie deep within you that are affecting you from going out to conquer the world.

It’s so easy to focus on what’s outside and neglect what’s inside. It’s so easy to notice other people’s shortcomings while ignoring our own flaws and weaknesses. It’s so easy to spend time talking about enemies out there when the enemies within are the real culprit.

Our greatest enemy is self or our flesh. We must first deal with our flesh before we want to deal with or take up anything in the world be it people, challenges or the devil. True victory starts from within. The starting point to dealing with our flesh so we can conquer the world is to be born of God; to have Jesus Christ in us (1 John 5:4-5).

In Acts 19:14-16, the Sons of Sceva hadn’t first dealt with their flesh, with their personal need for salvation, yet they wanted to conquer the world; they wanted to conquer an evil spirit. Instead of conquering the evil spirit, they were conquered by the evil spirit because they hadn’t first dealt with the spiritual emptiness in them; they hadn’t first filled themselves with Christ; the conquering power that brings everything in the world down, before they wanted to go out and conquer the world.

Similarly, Samson was a man with great potentials, a man God had great plans for (Judges 13:5), but because Samson didn’t first deal with his personal weakness; his lust for women (Judges 14:1-2, Judges 16:1), before trying to conquer the world; before trying to conquer the Philistines, he ended up being conquered by the Philistines (Judges 16:16-21).

From the two examples above, we can see that our greatest danger isn’t in what is in the world, what is outside, but in what is in us. What we fail to deal with in our lives, what we ignore, excuse, brush aside or justify in our lives, can end up ruining us faster than anything that is in the world.

PRAYER
Father, I come to you with all my inner struggles and inadequacies. I lay before you all my weaknesses. I shall not be conquered by these weaknesses. These weaknesses will not create doorways for the enemy to enter into my life and ruin me. Lord, my flesh is weak but You are strong. Fill me with Your grace and power to overcome these weaknesses, Fill me with more of You so I don’t give in to the sinful desires of my flesh. Fill the emptiness within me, fill me daily with the power of Christ so I can resist, overcome and conquer anything that comes my way.

PHOTO CREDIT : Gia Oris on Unsplash

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