But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things you want.     Galatians 5:16-17 HCSB

The devil wants to see our destruction. Simply put, he wants us to self-destruct. If he sees any weakness in our armor, this is where he will aim his shot. God gives us armor to wear daily it is listed in Ephesians 6:10-18. We are told we must daily suit up for this war that is the world in which we live.

We often think of the enemy as being on the outside, but my friend if you aren’t choosing to walk by the Spirit, you are at war within yourself. If you are attempting to walk by the Spirit, you can bet the devil is trying to use the desires of your flesh to stop you.

I am sure if we conducted a poll asking people if they would choose to spend eternity in heaven or in hell the majority of people that are of a sound mind would choose heaven. Of course, in today’s world who knows. The sad part is many believe they can live as they please and still get into heaven, but it doesn’t work that way.

We have to choose between the Spirit and the flesh and sadly most of the time there is a war going on within us between the Holy Spirit and our flesh. The Holy Spirit wants us to live our lives in a way that will assure that we will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior in heaven. The flesh is the temptation from the devil, and he wants to be sure we spend eternity with him in hell.

If you are truly saved, you want to live by the Spirit, you want to walk by the Spirit and you want to deny the desires of the flesh. There is no middle ground. There is no kind of or sort of salvation.

Sadly, while you think you may be able to fake one or the other, you really can’t. Whether you are living by the flesh or the Spirit it is usually obvious by the way you act and speak. For example, the deeds of the flesh are listed in Galatians 5:19 and they are evident. They are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. The Bible clearly tells us that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Then in verses 22-23 Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit which include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The war within us rages when we allow our flesh to be overcome by the devil or when we hesitate to pick a side. When we refuse to give up our deliberate sin, yet still try to please God this causes problems within. When we try to have faith but find ourselves being fearful, this too causes problems.

There is a war between God and the devil for your soul. You have to make the choice. You have to choose a side. God gives you free will. He wants you to come to Him, but He will never force you.

The only way to win this war is to go to God. Give all your sin over to Him. He will gladly help to strengthen you to resist the devil’s temptations. Turn to Him today. He won’t let you down.

If God is for us no one can stand against us (Romans 8:31). Through Christ we are victorious, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).

Win the war within by giving it all over to Him. Love Him with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). Submit to Him, resist the devil and the devil will flee from you (James 4:7). And that’s how you win the war.

Have a great day!