15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:15 – 20)
Today we switch gears to the Discipline of Spiritual Warfare. This Discipline highlights the reality of the struggle that believers engage in every day, for “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” This is a struggle that many avoid thinking about but the Bible certainly doesn’t avoid the topic.
Please prayerfully reflect on the passage of scripture above. It provides a powerful statement of Paul’s struggle, which can certainly be viewed as a struggle of identity.
Something to think about:
We are often encouraged to focus on victories in our Christian walk. That is, of course, appropriate encouragement because “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”. However, in the passage above Paul exhibits clear vulnerability. In the spiritual battle for our identity, how might the kind of vulnerability exhibited by Paul prove valuable?