By Lisa Wilmore
(Part 1)
Greetings Dear Hearts!
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:2 KJV).
Some months ago, I had an opportunity to journey to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in a Christian Education Conference for Christian Educators. It was quite an experience, and I always learn a great deal to help me in my walk with God. My pastor, Rev. Dr. Chandler Hawkins (St. Matthew B.C., Mangham, LA) allows me to share lessons and biblical insights to our Sunday School class as a whole during our Family Ministry time each month. One of the classes that I took dealt with “Managing Conflict”. The class dealt with how to manage quarrels, battles, or disputes that are within the church as well as the family.
However, as I began a deeper study, it became obvious that ‘internal conflict’ must be managed as well. Mind you, conflict is inevitable; in other words, it is certain. I shared with the families in our church that all Christians, believers in Jesus Christ, will have invisible internal battles that are real. Our battle may not imitate another, but we all have them.
One of the most important things that I learned during my study of managing internal battles is that if we do not learn how to handle the small daily battles, we will struggle with the bigger spiritual ones.
What are your internal struggles in which you find yourself battling day after day? What tug-of-wars are you engaged in with the flesh and the Spirit? Perhaps on one side, the Spirit of God is pulling and guiding you toward love, honesty, and holiness; however, on the other side, your flesh, or selfish desires, is pulling you in the opposite direction.
Likewise, Paul declares in Romans 7:19-20; “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me (NKJV). Paul was honest about his struggle. He admits that he wants to do right but sometimes does the opposite. (Selah-think about it).
So, the question is, “How do we face and overcome the struggle within our hearts while remaining faithful to God? First, we must acknowledge the struggle. Be honest with yourself and with God. In 1 John 1:9, we are instructed to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness.
Additionally, we must recognize temptation before it turns into sin. We are no better than Paul, who was painfully aware of the internal conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. We, too, must acknowledge it. When we feel overwhelmed by sin’s appeal, we must claim the freedom Christ gave us-that is to be free from sin’s grasp.
I love you with the heart of Jesus Christ. (To be continued…)
