Romans 7:15-24 says, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
I think we’ve all felt this way before, at least about one aspect of our life. There are certain areas where we continue to do the things we know we shouldn’t—and the things we ought to do, we don’t.
For example, we know we should be reading the Bible every day. We know we’re made to spend time in the presence of God daily. But things come up, life gets busy, and we don’t. We know we should be mindful of the music we listen to or the shows we watch, but we give ourselves a pass and let those influences in. We know we need community, but we put off joining a group or going to Bible study just another month, then just another month, until a year’s gone by and we’re in the same place.
It’s so easy to minimize the choices we make. But every thought in our mind leads up to an action, and every action that doesn’t lead us closer to God, drives us away from him.
If we’re going to stop engaging in the bad and start engaging in the good, we have to realize we’ll never win a fight we don’t participate in.
You’ll never win the spiritual fight for your soul if you don’t engage in that very fight.
Remember the words of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
And Galatians 5:16, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”
Our sinful nature wants us to do evil. That’s exactly the opposite of what the Spirit wants. Similarly, the Spirit gives us desires that are the exact opposite of what our sinful nature wants. The two forces are constantly fighting each other.
The reason you’re not doing the good that you want to do, and are instead doing what you know you ought not do, is because you’re letting sin nature lead your life instead of the Holy Spirit.
On our own, we’re not equipped to overcome our sin nature. But we are equipped to invite the Holy Spirit into the battle.
You and I, from the moment we were born to our last moment on earth, are involved in a spiritual war—the battle between our sin nature and the Spirit of God in our lives. Whether you wanted to be in a war or not, it’s happening. Whether you picked the fight or not, you’re a part of the warfare.
We have to engage in the fight. We have to get alert and stay alert. We have to make sure we’re fully aware of our surroundings: What’s happening in our marriage, in our family, in our physical life, and in our thought life.
Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion. He’s not one, but he sure imitates one. And the moment distraction happens, damage follows. When we get distracted, we let our guards down and we disengage from the fight. So if you want to fight to win, you have to stay alert and keep your head in the battle.
The second way we get ready to win the war is to get dressed for battle.
Ephesians 6:11-18 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Paul instructs us to put on the whole armor of God. Not just a few pieces, but all of it, because we have to be dressed appropriately to fight effectively.
The simple truth is that some of us walk out the front door every morning not prepared to fight. We’re not armored up because we haven’t had time with the Lord. No one can put that armor on for you. It’s up to us to ready ourselves for what we’ll face each day.
There are tons of resources to help you spend time in the Word of God every day. You can even start simple by just reading this passage in Ephesians 6, and praying,
“God, help me stand strong in the battles I’ll face today, as I put on my breastplate of righteousness, my helmut of salvation, my belt of truth, my sandals of peace, and take up my shield of faith and sword of the Spirit.”
Intentionally equipping yourself—from head to toe—in the armor of God helps us show up prepared for battle and ready to win it.
If we’re going to stop doing what we don’t want to do and start living Spirit-led, we have to let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do. It’s not just a matter of wanting to be better, have more willpower, or be more in control.
We can want all we want—“I want to be patient instead of rushed. I want to be sober instead of addicted. I want to be generous instead of greedy and afraid.”—but until we give ourselves fully over to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we’re all stuck.
In John 15:5, Jesus talks about being the vine and the branches. He says, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” The answer to getting unstuck is Jesus Christ our Lord.
It’s not about us and our willpower. It’s about Him and His grace.
It’s not about controlling more, but surrendering more to Him.
Galatians 5:24-25 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
If we’re following the Holy Spirit’s leading in some parts of our lives, but not all the parts, we’re missing out on the best way to live. As Romans 8 says, if, through the power of the Spirit, we put to death our sinful desires, we gain true life—the full, Spirit-filled life that God has for each of us.
We’re all being led by something— money, envy, social media influences, Hollywood, life coaches, even our parents’ example—and not every influence is a bad one. But if the Holy Spirit isn’t your core guide, if you aren’t taking time to sit in God’s presence and be transformed by His Word, there’s so much more to life you’re missing out on.
If you’re feeling stuck, let God lead you by still waters into green pastures, in the way only He can do.