In Romans chapter 7, the Apostle Paul wrote, “I have discovered this principle of life – that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 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.” Romans 7:21-25 (NLT)
You just read the definition of a struggle. It’s a struggle all of us face. What we struggle with may be different, but we struggle nonetheless; the war in our mind. For some, the struggle is daily, others more frequently, and for others it may be less often. It’s still a struggle, or a battle, that we all either face, or have faced, at some point in time.
Often our greatest struggle happens at a season of transition. That transition could be moving from non-believer to believer, believer to servant, or servant to leader. When we are in transition in the Kingdom of God, there is struggle.
Think on this!
Imagine that you, along with your entire family, have been in slavery and imprisoned for many years. Actually you have been imprisoned and in slavery for so many years that you have no memory of anything other than the condition which you experience every day. Your entire life has been lived in chains. Your existence has been determined by those who have held you captive. You’ve been forced to do what your captors have decided for you. The environment and conditions you have grown up with has become the normal, and not only has it become normal for you, but also for about four million other people whom you have grown up around. Then, one night your mom and dad sprinkle blood on the door posts of your home. This has never happened before. That night, you hear noises that are beyond anything you have ever heard. There is a great cry that goes up from the area in which your captors live.
Suddenly, you are released from your captivity and sent out of the place that you and your family have lived for four hundred years. In a moment, your normal way of life has completely changed.
People make it sound so simple. Just leave everything and walk into a new way of life. Walk away from your possessions, houses, friends, and the way you have lived and begin to live completely differently.
This is exactly what happened to the people of God the night of the original Passover… and the Exodus began. They had been in bondage for all those years and then they were freed from Egypt. However, what do you do with all the Egypt that is in you? That’s where you grew up, knew the customs, the ins and outs of the streets, and now you’re in a place completely unfamiliar. How do you act? How do you survive? I am sure there were a lot of questions. What we will do for a living? More than likely there was a mental struggle. You can see it played out in the Scripture. The idea of moving to a promised land sounded amazing, but then trouble would happen. Then the people would say we were better off in Egypt. There’s the same struggle that Paul talked about; The battle of the mind.
God knew His people would struggle with this. Therefore, He gives a promise to the people of Egypt, and to us. That promise is in Exodus 6:6 which reads: “I will rescue you from their bondage.” (NKJV) Another translation states that verse this way: “I will rescue you from your slavery.” (NLT)
This may seem redundant. Aren’t they already released from slavery and bondage? After all, they are out of Egypt aren’t they? Yet Egypt isn’t out of them. They need deliverance. They’ve been saved out of Egypt, but they need the Egypt out of them. We are no different!
Thankfully, by turning our lives over to Jesus, He not only saves us, He also gives provision to deal with the areas of our life in which we are in a struggle.
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