“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
Galatians 5:16-18
In 1337, disputes between England and France over succession to the throne and control of land broke out into open warfare. For the next 116 years, fighting continued in what came to be known as the Hundred Years War. Though there were brief periods of truces and peace, the conflict, along with smaller wars between competing factions and allies of the two nations that went on at the same time, continued until France finally gained the upper hand and England renounced all claims to the French throne. Five generations of English kings ruled during the time the fighting lasted. It was a battle that must have seemed like it would never end.
As Christians we are part of an ongoing spiritual conflict that will never end until we reach Heaven. The new nature that we receive when we trust Christ as Saviour competes with the old sinful nature that we inherited from Adam. The battle never ends. There are no days off or times when it is safe for us to set aside the weapons of spiritual warfare. Satan never gives up on his attempts to drag us down and destroy our lives. We must not grow weary of battle and stop fighting, or we will surely be defeated.
On the other hand, we can rejoice in the fact that, through the Holy Spirit, we are not powerless in this struggle. Second Corinthians 10:3–4 tells us, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;).”
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