-Strength for Today- "You Are Stronger than Your Struggles!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

People should stop thinking that their present condition is all that matters. Some even think along these lines:

·       “Nothing ever goes right with me”,

·       “My future is doomed” or

·       “No good will ever happen to me in this life”,

      And so on. Today I want to assure you that you are stronger than your struggles! I've learned to ask, “Where is this battle coming from … and is it coming from God, me or the devil? Knowing its origin always gives me a better battle plan. Because it is important to realize that life on this earth is occupied on two battlegrounds:

1.    The internal Battleground. - As soon as you receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you become an entirely new person. The Bible says our spirit suddenly becomes alive for the first time, and the Holy Spirit lives inside us, enabling us to affirm that God’s Word is true. His Word says, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” – 2 Corinthians 5:17.

           Even with the Holy Spirit living inside, the Christian life isn’t’ always easy.      

     The reason is because their:

·       Minds,

·       Thoughts,

·       Attitude and

·       Beliefs  

      Must be renewed, and their spirit want to agree with the Spirit of God, because their old lifestyles and sinful habits can trick them into believing they’re not yet set free.  The most potent weapon, then, is to agree with the Truth. It's that simple. You need to ask yourself, “What does God’s Word say about me?” If you know what He says, then you’ll know how to do battle with what’s coming out of the old you. It's no wonder the Word says in John 8:32, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

2.    The External Battleground- “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust” -Matthew 5:45b. Sometimes the struggle merely happens because we live in a fallen world. Which means no one is untouchable. Each of our lives are touched by:

·       Pain,

·       Sickness and

·       Death.

         It then is a fact that:

·       Life happens.

·       Evil persists, and

·       The devil is real!

      With that being said, you can rest knowing that when you face hard times, it doesn’t always mean you’re guilty of a specific crime. Suffering only confirms that an active battle, can still separates us from God. He doesn’t remove our power to choose good or evil. Because without the freedom to choose, there’s no such thing as unconditional love. We each have an authentic opportunity to choose good or evil. Many battles are the results of people’s wrong decisions, as they give themselves over to Satan’s darkness.

    So whether you struggle internally or externally, just remember, it’s up to you to make a conscious choice to partner with Truth. And you can ask the Holy Spirit, “What are You saying to me?” And “What do I need to know when I’m faced with darkness?” It then is here that His wee small voice convicts you of the only Truth that can quench the fire of any evil battle!

Author Plez Lovelady, Jr., PhD