The Spirit is Willing

“And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  I want to do what is right, but I can’t.  I want to do what is good, but I don’t.  I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.  But if you do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.”–Romans 7:18-20

There’s an internal war that rages within each of us.  Paul describes this so well in Romans 7.  Though we desire to do the right thing, we don’t have the power to do so in our own efforts and we mess up.  The good news is that we don’t have to rely on our own strength to make right decisions.  We don’t have to be dominated by our sinful nature and end up doing the things we don’t want to do.  But the way we can live this kind of life is by yielding to the Holy Spirit and relying on the strength of Jesus Christ, not our own.

When we’re facing struggles, we must rely on God’s power alive within us through the Holy Spirit.  It is our job to lay down our stubborn fleshly will and yield to the will of God.  In that moment, the Holy Spirit will be there to help us.  Let’s learn to yield to and become totally reliant upon the Holy Spirit.

Make a decision today to yield to the Holy Spirit and lean on His strength, not your own, and to overcome obstacles of sin and selfishness in your life.  Surrender and release those areas to God, knowing He will help you.