THE WAR WITHIN—AN OVERLOOKED ENEMY

 "Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you. - 1 Peter 2:11 CEV


For a long time, we’ve been focused on battling external enemies—the ones we can see. These are people with bad intentions, those who may want us to fail, we also fight against evil spirits, demons, and principalities. While it’s important to guard against such threats, there is a greater enemy we often overlook. This enemy is closer than we realize—it lies within our own bodies.

In God’s Word, an enemy is anything or anyone that hinders God’s purpose in your life. This inner enemy knows that the real you is your soul, so it wages war against it. As scripture says, “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?” (1 Peter 3:13). For the enemy to truly harm you, he must first lead you into sin, pulling you away from God’s protection and peace.

Your greatest enemy, then, is anything—especially within yourself—that tempts you to do wrong and sin against God. Today’s message focuses on the battle with your own body. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The carnal mind is enmity against God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:6-8).

Galatians 5:19-21 describes the works of the flesh, which can lead us astray and cause destruction. These are actions like adultery, hatred, jealousy, anger, selfish ambitions, envy, and more. When we give in to these desires, we feel distant from God’s protection and peace. But through His grace, He always calls us back.

Allow the Holy Spirit to rule in your life, guiding your thoughts and actions. The Spirit empowers us to resist temptation and fills us with peace and purpose that the flesh cannot provide. “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:9-10).

Prayer: Oh Lord, I commit myself into Your hands. May Your Holy Spirit guide me, helping me to resist the desires of the flesh and live according to Your will. Amen.

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