The Battle Within

The week has been going great.  I have been reading my book, reading my Bible more, praying more, eating much better, fighting off cravings....and then, today happened.

I woke up with a migraine.  Blah.  Migraines are the curse of satan I swear.  There is no way to explain to people the pain of a migraine.  People think you just have a "headache".  It feels as though someone is trying to rip your eyeball out with a fork from the top of your head, all the while stabbing the very center of your eye with a needle. You want desperately to be locked in a dark room and sleep for 10 hours.

And I work with people. (get my drift?)

So I got up, got dressed, and tried to present myself in a friendly manner.  I don't know for certain what triggered this migraine, but I think it might have to do with the fact that my body is on strike because it has not been given any chocolate or any kind of soda in the last 4 days.  So, once I got past the nausea that a migraine so nicely brings with it-- I was hungry.  I don't know about you, but when I don't feel well the last thing I want is something good for me.  I want ice cream, and chocolate, and comfort foods....pretty well anything that comes in a box that has absolutely nothing in it made from God, and all man made stuff I can't pronounce.  So it was time to put into practice what I've been reading and praying about.  God help me.  (that was my prayer....that was all I could come up with at the moment)...Help me to not cave.  I stopped, I slowed down and I read.  What my devotion said today was exactly what I needed at the exact right moment.  So much so, I had to copy it and share it with you......


The Raging Battle
In His Presence: Psalm 37:4

“I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please”(Galatians 5:16-17).


The very Spirit of God has taken up residence in our lives if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. God wants to express His mind, His thoughts, His desires, and His will through our mortal bodies. But for us to see this happen, we need to be under the Holy Spirit’s control. While this is taking place, we are going to experience conflict within ourselves. This is one way we can know we are Christians. If we have no battles raging within, we are probably not saved. There is no opposition within us. God says the flesh and the Spirit are total opposites; they are not going to get along with each other at all.

How do we know the difference between the flesh and the Holy Spirit within us? The Spirit will want to please God, and the flesh will want to please ourselves. That’s why the war going on inside of us is good, not bad. Most of us feel guilty about having such a battle. Of course, we may not like the feeling, but the two laws operating in our bodies should give us occasion to praise God.

If a battle is being waged within you, that’s a good thing because it indicates that the Spirit is active.

~Dr. Tony Evans~

Those battles that I hate?  That's God working in me!  How can I hate that?  I stood there in awe that the God of the universe would care about something as silly as a chocolate craving, and He would feed my soul with nourishment from His Word.  I didn't cave.  I didn't need to, the craving didn't matter anymore.  I wanted more of God and less of me.

There have been many times in my prayer life when I have asked God to not give up on me, to help me become more like His Son, to allow me to feel His presence, and I almost always hear in the corners of my heart "I will never leave you or forsake you."  In that very same passage in Hebrews chapter 13 God tells us to be content with what we have. Hmm, there's that contentment thing again.  Content with what I have, not craving more. 

Whatever your battle is...there's a Scripture for that.  Slowwww down and ask God for His presence, and stand in marvel and awe when He responds.