“Who will rescue me from this body of death: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:24

As I mentioned, I am once again going through the Book of Romans written by the great Apostle Paul under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  As I am reading chapter 7, that tells of the struggle Paul had with his sinful nature even after he had met the Lord,  I am praising the Lord for His healing and deliverance of a problem of the flesh that I could not overcome for years and years because I did not know how to walk in victory over my sinful nature.

  Though I had given my heart to God, and I was serving the Lord in many ways, and touching lives through His love and the gifts He had given me, I could not seem to totally rid myself of this thorn in my flesh. I hated it because it would bring pain and sorrow to me, and mine when it happened.  I would think I had conquered it, but then it would raise its ugly head again. As Paul wrote, “I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (7:14)That is exactly how I felt.  It was a nasty nasty habit.  I hated it so badly that after it happened once, I even prayed I would be blinded if I did it again.  Thankfully the Lord in His grace and mercy did not allow that, but that is how much I hated it.  The problem was this, I was trying to handle it in my own strength.  I was trying to deal with it by my own will power.   The power of sin is greater than the strength of our natural flesh.  That is why we are in a body of death.  As Paul cried out, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord,” was his answer.  And so it is for us.  When we ask Christ into our lives, a mysterious wonderful thing happens that is way above our pay grade to understand;  we are born again in our soul, and the Holy Spirit comes into our body, soul, and spirit.  We then have two natures.  We have a spiritual nature, and a sinful nature.  Unfortunately we still have to deal with our our old sinful nature, as our new spiritual nature is being developed by the presence of the Holy Spirit within.  The good news is the sinful nature gets weaker and weaker, and the new spiritual nature gets stronger and stronger as we get closer to the Lord through the Word, great messages from the Lord through many other ways, and our daily walk with Him in the Spirit.  At some point,our faith will bring us to a place where we do not question His promises, and a whole new world is opened to us.  The Word says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘yes’ in Christ.  And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God”. (2 Corinthians 1:20)  I came to the point in believing I was healed in my body.  (Isaiah 53:5), because He said I am.  I have shared with you that I am pain free, and medication free after years and years of pain, and meds.  In my situation with the horrendous habit, the Lord showed me I am healed of that weakness in my flesh and soul just as I am healed in my mortal body.  I heard Him. I received it. I was rescued. I am free. I shall never look to myself again for the strength to overcome sin in my life. I shall forever look to the One who has brought victory, and who is able to keep it, and keep me – Jesus Christ.
If anyone is dealing with a habit that is destructive, and painful, and you want it out of your life, remember this:  “By His wounds you are healed”, body soul, and spirit.  Receive His promise. He rescued me –  He wants to rescue you. He loves you. He will do it for you.  You may not be able to stop it, but He can, and will, take it away.  May you be blessed and healed in every way, God’s Beloveds.
Poppa B.
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