Internal Battle

Someone sent me a reflection the other day that I would like to share with you. There was this ancient Indian that was teaching his grandson about life. Ht told the boy: there is a fierce battle being fought inside of me. And this battle is being fought inside of you and inside of every person in the world. It is a fight between two wolves. One is bad; he is anger, ill will, envy, sadness, remorse, avarice, arrogance, inferiorities, lies, pride, superiority and ego. The other is good; he is peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, generosity, benevolence, compassion, kindness and faith. The boy thought about it for a moment and asked his grandfather, which will win? To what he responded: the one you chose to feed. It is very obvious that this is not a Christian reflection, and the author is not known, but when I read it I found it to reflect a great truth about every human being. Therefore, today I want us to explore this internal battle that we all face on a daily basis, but most of all, so that we can discover what side we are feeding. Let’s now turn to the verses that we will be using today.

Romans 12:17-21 - Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

When we analyze these verses here, I think that without a doubt all of us here will agree when I say that here Paul is speaking very clearly about the internal battle that we all face. Here Paul is speaking to us about that battle that we fight in our minds on a daily basis between good and evil. As I have said on other occasions, our mind is the main battle field. I say this because it is in our minds that the feelings of wrath, disputes, avarice, revenge and fear are born. These negative thoughts are birthed in our mind influenced by the evil current that runs through this world. It is here where this battle between good and evil is fought, and if we do not take the time to strengthen ourselves with the Word of God and tap into the power of the Holy Spirit, then we will be unable to recognize the enemy attack and we will be defeated. How can we prevent from being defeated? The answer is simple; we can prevent being defeated by nourishing the Holy Spirit that now dwells in us with the Word of God.

One reality about Christianity is that not all persons are victorious in their walk. The main reason is that many have stopped reflecting in their actions, or lack of actions, something that leads us to stop recognizing our errors. As I have said on other occasions, none of us are perfect. All of us gathered here today, without exception, have faults and commit errors on a daily basis, and that is why we should reflect in out actions or lack thereof constantly to discover what could be the cause so that we can overcome them. Look at how this is something that is very well illustrated in Romans 8:6-8 when we read “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God”. Tell the person sitting next to you, be spiritually minded. The problem that exists is that many of us fail to understand that we can be victorious in all situations; we fail to understand that we have the power to defeat all temptations. By this I am not saying nor implying that it will be easy. Furthermore, the internal battle is very difficult and in special occasions it can appear as something that can not overcome. But all of us that have made a true commitment with God; all of us that serve Him with all of out heart, all of us that have been reborn in the spirit and truth, we can overcome. This is something that is clearly stated in 1 John 5:4 when we read “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”. And also in Romans 8:37 when we read “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us”. Tell the person sitting next to you, we are more than conquerors.