Spiritual Conflict

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. " 1 Peter 5:7-8a

This past year, I have grown a lot in the Lord and I have learned a lot about who I am as a person and who God is.  This is not to say that I have not made mistakes but rather I am now looking and seeing my mistakes through God's grace and my sinfulness.  Self-control is something that I personally struggle with and is something that I have worked hard at developing.  Every day, I make a conscious effort to make sure that my life is in line with God's word and Christ's example.  I love the imagery in 1 Corinthians that Paul uses of a race, and how he talks about everyone who participates in a game  under goes strict training.

"They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

There is a struggle that takes place when you try to follow God.  There are times when I feel like I have to beat my body to make it a slave not only to me but to God.  There are times when I don't want to go to church and when I don't feel like reading my Bible. There are times when I don't want to volunteer to help someone in need and there are times when I feel like being lazy.  However, it is during those times that I have to push those thoughts and my feelings aside and look at the bigger picture. It's not about me.

"Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering." 1 Peter 5:8b-9

Our minds is one of the biggest battle grounds that we will ever face in trying to resist the devil.  It is in our minds that he wants control but we have to resist him and be self-controlled and alert.  Satan does not try to destroy your life all at once, no he does it over time.  Like, "oh I am going to read my Bible tomorrow, not today". Then two weeks later you still have not picked it up or every time that you were about to something just came up, coincidence I don't think so.  I have found that the times when I am not in God's Word, is the also the times when Satan tries to attack me the hardest.  I then start to get really down and strangely enough things just keep going wrong, one right after the other.  It is at those really low moments, that I dive back into God's Word it is like a wake up call, "What in the world have you been doing, see what you have been missing out on".  Sometimes we need help from others to keep our minds oe the right track.  Reading the Word is so important, we need to stand firm in our faith and build our foundation in order to resist the devil.