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Mar 03, 2025 06:00am

The Struggle Within

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His favorite snack was Mt. Dew and a Snickers bar. But when we got the news that he had developed diabetes, we had to talk to my father-in-law about healthy choices for his sugar levels.

It was like a punch in the gut to him. He loved a Coke and a candy bar. They were a real treat for him. So, hearing news like that, that this wasn’t good for him, that he shouldn’t eat that anymore, was a struggle.

He wanted to do better. He wanted to take aim at this struggle and keep his focus on what was good. And for most of the week, he would. But after church on Sundays, we’d leave just a little later than him. And as we passed them at the gas station, we’d see him walk out with something extra in his hands – a Mt. Dew and a Snickers bar.

We’d ask him about it, and he said he would try to do better. And again, for a few days, he would until it was time to run to town for something. We’d get in the truck the next day, and there would be a candy bar wrapper and a soda bottle in the console.

It was a real struggle.

Romans 7:14-25

“So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[d] I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 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. 20 But if I 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.

21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power[e] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”

I’m not making light of sin by using a Coke and candy bar as examples. We know the severity of sin. We know the horrible effects it has on each of us. My prelude to the scripture is to give you an idea of how we all struggle to do what’s right.

Even as a Christian.

Paul was sharing from his heart. He was open and honest about his own struggle with sin. He was a changed man. Christ had saved him from his sins and was changing him from the old man to someone new, someone who was in the image of Christ.

But the temptation to sin was still there. It didn’t go away even though he had become a follower of Jesus. He knew what was wrong and wanted to do what was right, but sometimes, he would choose the wrong thing. He would sin. He knew these believers in Rome struggled too. We all do.

So, what, then, is our hope?

Only Jesus.

When we fall into temptation and sin, we have to go back to what Christ has done for us and who He is. We must remind ourselves of the sacrifice He gave. We must call out to the Holy Spirit for guidance and help.

Have you fallen prey to sin? Have you stumbled? Jesus is waiting to lift you up and set your feet back on the right path.

Until we reach home, until we make it to heaven, we will all struggle with our “flesh”. We will always be tempted because sin exists. But because Jesus overcame sin and death, we have a promise of a future in our eternal home where there will be no sin, no suffering, and no death.

Do you want that future? Have you ever placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Let me show you who He is and what it looks like to follow Him. Go to follow.Lifeword.org to learn more.