Christ has promised to always be with us. But in His infinite wisdom, He also knew the devil would constantly plague us. Think about it, if satan only left Jesus for a season - then Jesus surely knew we would be harassed by the old devil too. That is why Jesus wanted us to love and serve one another. So we could encourage and build one another up enough to be able to face the world on a daily basis - to help us win the battle against the devil.
Paul talks about his own spiritual fight in Romans 7: 14-25. It is a rather long passage, so I will not post it here; but the apostle talks about the struggle between the longing to satisfy worldly desires (whatever they might be) and the desire to follow God and do what is right.
Sisters we are in a fight. We are all tempted from time to time. My weakness may not be the same as someone else's; but we all have them. I don't think anyone is immune to temptation. We all face it at one time or another. The good news is - we do not have to yield to the devil's temptations.
God promised we will always have a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). But we have to look for it, right? We have to fight our way out of the temptations that come our way. Hopefully, we all understand I am not talking about going out and beating someone up.
Paul makes it clear "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). This is heavy stuff. We really are in a battle for our souls.
BUT as serious as it sounds, it is by no means hopeless. God is not willing that any should perish. He really does want us all to win this fight. So He helps us. Praying strengthens our faith. The more often we pray the closer we grow to God. The closer we are to Him, the more able we will be to win our spiritual struggles.
Sometimes God's helpers come to help us. They are present in our lives and willing to help us whenever we reach out. God's helpers are other Christians. Maybe they once went through what we are going through. Maybe their weakness is the same as ours. Maybe they love others who fight the same thing we fight.
On the other hand, these helpers may fight an entirely different battle. Or maybe they have just learned to love souls in the same way God loves souls. Maybe they just want to be there for us ... to help in any way they can.
We can be one of God's helpers too. We can be compassionate, understanding and loving. We can study with others. We can pray with others. Sometimes all we need to do is sit down and listen. God needs us to help those who are hurting.
Romans 15:1 -3: "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
Let's allow ourselves to be used in God's service. Let's help others because Christ has helped us. In this way, all of us can win those battles within.
Christ above all things,
Robin
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