1. A Willing Spirit, but a Weak Flesh!

My behavior was radically impacted when I was born again. But it wasn’t long before a difficult question confronted me: how do I remain strong in my commitment to live in a way that pleases God when Jesus Himself said, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak?”

Weak indeed! What’s this all about, I wondered? I knew I had been deeply transformed, so why would I have even a remote desire to return to things so destructive in my past? It amazed me because I knew from experience that sin could never be a source of lasting joy. Yet I was willing to toy with it. Could I really be that stupid?

And another issue bewildered me. Why was I now completely set free from some old habits while others sprang back with a vengeance? There they were! Needless to say, the shame that came along with falling into the same old sins was extremely discouraging. The Bible talks about struggling with the old man; for me it was the old Dan!

From Free from the Power of Sin: the Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

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