Huge Cost

Galatians 5:¹⁶ “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” (emphasis added)

There is a cost to not winning the battle raging on our inside. The first cost is Confusion. The second is Guilt And Shame and the third is Compulsion And Addiction. Romans 7:¹⁷ “But I can’t help myself because I’m no longer doing it. It is sin inside me that is stronger than I am, that makes me do these evil things.” (LB, emphasis added). In this passage we see a man of God (Paul), or a child of God (us, Christians) go through situations where we feel helpless. And the proof that we are not skilled or equipped to win these battles within, is we feel addicted. If there is anything that you feel compelled to do, it is proof that you are paying the price of not winning the battle within. I pray that you will win the battle within in Jesus Name.

The fourth thing that happens when we do not know how to win the battle within is Self-Condemnation. Romans 7:¹⁸ “I know I am rotten inside as far as my old sinful nature is concerned…” (LB, emphasis added). Paul went through all these things that he is showing us in the scriptures. Paul condemned himself. The Bible is so beautiful; sit down and read the Bible. It is a mirror, you will see your life open up and God showing you what to do next.

The fifth cost to not winning the battle raging on our inside is Frustration. Paul was frustrated. Romans 7:^18-20 “…No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right. I want to but I can’t!  When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway! Now if I am doing what I don’t want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.”  (LB)

The sixth cost to not winning the battle within is Discouragement And Despair. After going through confusion, guilt and shame, compulsion and addiction, self-condemnation, and frustration, we are left with discouragement and despair. We feel discouraged, we feel there is no point, nobody can really serve God. We feel like this is a lost cause and that is the lie of the devil. Romans 7:^{21& 23} “It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong… In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin.”  (LB, emphasis added). This is the picture of a discouraged Christian.

The cost of not winning the battle within is huge. No one can live in confusion, carry the weight of guilt and shame, be in compulsion and addiction, in self-condemnation, in frustration, and discouragement and despair, and live a happy, joyful, and fulfilled life. The weight of winning this battle within is upon us and we must in Jesus Name because God has empowered us to.

Prayer: Father, by Your Spirit, I win every battle raging within me, in Jesus Name. Amen!