How do I struggle for peace
Within my very soul?
Is not a war I can see
Nor do I have any weapons
It is an internal conflict
We all face to varying degrees
It is a competition between wills
That we need to choose to lose
To have victory over ourselves
I really believe my greatest enemy
Is myself
People understand physical pain
And many also emotional pain
But the biggest fight is
Between God and ourselves
We fear evil forces and the devil
And we should
But we should fear
Our own decisions more
Fighting for our own good
Is easy to understand
Or even fighting for others
But attempting to defeat our own will
Is much harder to understand
Why would a person not trust themself?
How does the heart divide within a person?
Schizophrenia is a split
But not between personalities
It is a split between fantasy and reality
But there is a split between
All of our hearts as well
In dealing with insurgents and freedom fighters
We seek to win hearts and minds
God does as well
But rebellion from God is not the same
As endorsing certain political figures or ideas
Not embracing the values of this world
Is a way of finding God in this life
God seeks to win our hearts
Not because He needs to win
He never lost
He fights for us
And He won this war long ago
We are fighting a stubborn enemy
And so there are many battles
Still to take place
We often think getting more stuff
Will make us happy
Some seek mastery of their minds
Through greater discipline
And many think evil can be overcome
By merely trying harder
But serious struggles
Require us to bring God’s power
And authority to the conflict
It is true that the devil is weak
Compared to God
But compared to us
He is very powerful
This is why we need to resist
And resolve our blocks
That keep us from getting closer
In our relationship with God
Many Christians think of God
As a drinking buddy
But the relationship is more like
A really kind Authority Figure
A perfect Father
Or a Boss you can truly respect
We often see these things as incompatible
We need to dream bigger
In seeking victory over ourselves
We must choose God
As our Authority Figure
Many think that God is already in control
So this does nothing
Others think they want to be free
The reality is that we were never meant
To live independently of God
We were meant to serve
And not to lead ourselves
Whenever we think of our rights
Or our freedom to express ourselves
And raise this preference
Higher than what God asks us to do
This is when we make an idol for ourselves
Most people do not worship the devil directly
In American culture today
We make ourselves to be gods
When we do not voluntarily
Choose God as our master
We are implicitly choosing to serve
The god of this world
God is the Ultimate Power
In every and all realities
But He has given us the right
To choose who we will serve
This is a binary decision
It is not an essay question
There are many way to express ourselves
Even in our faith
But there are certain spiritual realities
Like the laws of physics
That work consistently
Whether we like them or not
So it is in the spiritual world
If you choose to express yourself
By expecting gravity to work differently
Just because you want it to
This is a sure way to get seriously hurt
The same goes with spiritual realities
Within my very soul?
Is not a war I can see
Nor do I have any weapons
It is an internal conflict
We all face to varying degrees
It is a competition between wills
That we need to choose to lose
To have victory over ourselves
I really believe my greatest enemy
Is myself
People understand physical pain
And many also emotional pain
But the biggest fight is
Between God and ourselves
We fear evil forces and the devil
And we should
But we should fear
Our own decisions more
Fighting for our own good
Is easy to understand
Or even fighting for others
But attempting to defeat our own will
Is much harder to understand
Why would a person not trust themself?
How does the heart divide within a person?
Schizophrenia is a split
But not between personalities
It is a split between fantasy and reality
But there is a split between
All of our hearts as well
In dealing with insurgents and freedom fighters
We seek to win hearts and minds
God does as well
But rebellion from God is not the same
As endorsing certain political figures or ideas
Not embracing the values of this world
Is a way of finding God in this life
God seeks to win our hearts
Not because He needs to win
He never lost
He fights for us
And He won this war long ago
We are fighting a stubborn enemy
And so there are many battles
Still to take place
We often think getting more stuff
Will make us happy
Some seek mastery of their minds
Through greater discipline
And many think evil can be overcome
By merely trying harder
But serious struggles
Require us to bring God’s power
And authority to the conflict
It is true that the devil is weak
Compared to God
But compared to us
He is very powerful
This is why we need to resist
And resolve our blocks
That keep us from getting closer
In our relationship with God
Many Christians think of God
As a drinking buddy
But the relationship is more like
A really kind Authority Figure
A perfect Father
Or a Boss you can truly respect
We often see these things as incompatible
We need to dream bigger
In seeking victory over ourselves
We must choose God
As our Authority Figure
Many think that God is already in control
So this does nothing
Others think they want to be free
The reality is that we were never meant
To live independently of God
We were meant to serve
And not to lead ourselves
Whenever we think of our rights
Or our freedom to express ourselves
And raise this preference
Higher than what God asks us to do
This is when we make an idol for ourselves
Most people do not worship the devil directly
In American culture today
We make ourselves to be gods
When we do not voluntarily
Choose God as our master
We are implicitly choosing to serve
The god of this world
God is the Ultimate Power
In every and all realities
But He has given us the right
To choose who we will serve
This is a binary decision
It is not an essay question
There are many way to express ourselves
Even in our faith
But there are certain spiritual realities
Like the laws of physics
That work consistently
Whether we like them or not
So it is in the spiritual world
If you choose to express yourself
By expecting gravity to work differently
Just because you want it to
This is a sure way to get seriously hurt
The same goes with spiritual realities