Flesh and Spirit

There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. – 2 Samuel 3:1

I have read so much since my last entry, and even the one before that. The Lord has been showing me much with the scriptures that relates to my own life. Yes, even in the Old Testament. David was the king of Israel and this story shows he had much patience to wait for the Lord to place him on the throne of Israel (1 Samuel). Where I am reading, we find with David even being anointed by God and elected to rule Judah, there was division between David and the last son of Saul.

David, being such a man of God by avoiding to kill Saul (in defense) in many opportunities, represents the Spirit in this story. Saul, though he is now dead at this point, represents the flesh because of the multiple times he chose to serve himself over the Lord. The ending of 2 Samuel 2 and the first verse of chapter 3 have shown me that, even among the Old Testament people of God, there was much division between the flesh and Spirit.

Between my full-time job, and working for my church, I have felt this division in my own life. To some I say, "if I were not a Christian, I would be working every Sunday to make the extra money". Yet my belief in Christ allows me to see the benefit of having a day of rest, and to attend church where I continue to grow in my faith in the Lord. Though I do not have every Sunday off of working, I am working to change that and want to put more time into serving the Lord, so that I can show He has won the war over the flesh and so that I can fulfill my calling as a Christian.

If you are experiencing this division in your own life, you are not alone. Now, I encourage you to keep moving forward toward a more Christ-centered life so that others can see Him in you, and so that one day we, through the power of Christ, can finally win the war against the flesh.

May the Spirit lead you today, so that you may be closer to Him, and further from the flesh that easily entangles us from seeing what God truly has planned for our lives. Amen.