“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Galatians 5:17 KJV

Oh, how well I know THIS conflict! The fight between the spirit and the flesh lives daily within me. The older I get, the more choices I discover confirming that the battlefield of the will… WILL rage on! And I HATE it! As has been said, ‘a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link.’ One of my weaknesses…is Nestle Chocolate!

After the discovery of a fatty liver, I realized I had to make a CHOICE about how I wanted my life to go. “Pay attention to what goes into your mouth,” turned out to be great advice.  And I have lost considerable weight from doing that! But for Halloween, we bought candy bars for the pending Trick or Treaters! Then only 5 showed! Having these little bars of temptation lying around has been causing me great anguish!

The last couple days have been good as I watched my intake. So much so, that I felt like “YOU…my man…have REASON TO CELEBRATE! Besides, those bundles of goodness are SOOOO very small… they only have 90 calories each! Besides, they have PEANUTS (and aren’t peanuts supposed to be good for you?).” Before I knew it I had eaten 3! No wait.. I knew! But after the first bite…I just didn’t care!!!!!

You know how it goes because YOU are just like me. Oh, maybe your thing isn’t Nestle chocolate. And if you’re like me, you don’t HAVE just 1 thing.. but MANY! And the battles continue because the lusts of the flesh are REAL! Having Jesus Christ living inside my heart only makes the battles more vibrant!!! GREAT!

I know enough about addiction to know that the battles are RARELY ever won COMPLETELY… here on earth. There will ALWAYS be a desire for that fleshy thing…as long as my flesh lives! But I THANK GOD because it isn’t an ‘eternal problem!’

Jesus took care of the ultimate consequences of my flusty life by wrapping it all up into a neat little package, taking it on Himself, and then KILLING IT! But the DESIRE remains as long as the flesh remains. And I think I know why.

When a battle comes that I KNOW I cannot win, grabbing Jesus hand is the ONLY way I can make it. And the harder the battle, the tighter we grip! SOMETIMES after a skirmish, I turn to thank him with chocolate on my face! He ALWAYS smiles that loving smile, and then reminds me, ”BUT NEXT TIME…!!!!!!!”

How are YOU doing… baby??