Britta Lafont

Britta Lafont

  • Home
  • Hi! I’m Britta
  • Read the Blog
  • Contact Me
  • My Books
  • Speaking

October 8, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Winning the War Against the Flesh

31 Days to a More Abundant Life

Day8 1 Peter 3.10-11

Do you want to Love Life
and see Good Days?

Loving life…seeing good days. <sigh> What does it feel like—to love life, to see good days? I know what I want it to feel like. My heart pictures a soft sandy beach, with a sunshiny, blue sky…there’s a slight breeze, the sound of gentle waves.

But, more often than not, we dread life and days are hard. We are filled with anxiety. We grieve. We struggle. Darkness seems to follow us. This is living under The Fall.

[God] said to the woman,
“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you.”

And to the man he said,
“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.
By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:16-19).

Because of The Fall, we get sick, we fight with one another, we struggle against ourselves, and we die. We have no peace. Paul said, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Romans 5:12, NLT).

But God had a better plan.

“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17, NLT).

Romans 5.17 Live in Triumph

Living in triumph over sin and death is
winning the war against the flesh…

We are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are free from sin (Romans 6:18). Yet—and this is the part that always bothered me—I STILL struggle with sin. I have tried to ignore it, tried to embrace it, tried to run from it…but sin hounds me. I have wondered, “What does it say about me, if I keep making the same mistakes? If I struggle with temptation and it seems that I lose more often than not?”

For many years, fighting the flesh meant I took my eyes off Jesus and all that He had done, was doing, and would do for me. In looking at my inabilities, I lost sight of His ability. I missed the forest for the trees…I missed the redemption, for the sin. When we focus on our failures, we can’t see His triumph.

#Write31Days Day 8

We like immediate results, but God is in this for the long run, for eternity.

The Lord absolutely will not fail in His plans to conform us to His image (Romans 8:29). Even now, He is at work (2 Corinthians 3:18). We are part of His process to change us, not our own.

Still, we might wonder, why does God allow Christians to struggle with sin?

Remember the sinful woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her hair—her actions raised more than a few eyebrows. But here is what Jesus noticed,  “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” (Luke 7:47, NLT).

We, who have been forgiven much, should love much. As God is weeding out the sin in our hearts, He is planting seeds of love, seeds of peace. We are His work, in progress. And as we are filled more and more with Him, with love, with peace, we are given an important assignment: we are to seek peace…and pursue it.  In fact, we are called to be Peacemakers.

Are you a peace-maker? Or a peace-breaker? Are you still searching for peace with God? Tomorrow, I’ll share the one crucial step we often miss in our search for peace, which is the foundation of a #MoreAbundantLife.

hugsignature

Linking up here this week:

WFMW-Logo

152 Insights to My Soul
Write31Days Abundant Life 300x300

You can find all the posts for this series here!

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print

Related

Don’t miss out!

Previous Post: « Discipling and Reconciliation
Next Post: Confession and Reconciliation »

Reader Interactions

Tell me what's on your heart: Cancel reply

Footer

Curate: collect and display evidence of God's goodness.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Want to come with?

In my typical social media introvert fashion, I re In my typical social media introvert fashion, I realize I didn’t share Gracie’s post on my feed at the time. 🤦🏻‍♀️
We are so thankful for this young man. ❤️ We are so thankful for this young man. ❤️
When the first day of school is also the day your When the first day of school is also the day your firstborn drives herself to college, it’s a lot. We moved her stuff into her dorm last week. Today she got up early to say goodbye to Dad (too early! Not pictured 😂), her brother, her doggo, her piano, and her momma. Before she left, she made blueberry scones to share with her little bro @sjoshlafont —they homeschool and relocated together, went to @westminsteroakmtn together, and have shared a love of music, Legos, superheroes (and villains), Transformers, and so much more. She played my favorite song. She even made banana bread to bring to her new roomie. @graciethenerd You are my little nut brown hare, and I love you to the moon and back. Auburn University is a better place because you are there! ❤️
Josh just started working in the bakery at Publix. Josh just started working in the bakery at Publix. Today he got his braces off. I just can’t believe it—where did the time go? @sjoshlafont
I’m a social media introvert mostly, but I’m r I’m a social media introvert mostly, but I’m reflecting today and feeling grateful for my sweet girl, my baby, my first-born. 🥰 She sure is a blessing to our family and her friends. Also, so grateful for the wonderful school where she spent the last four years—the perfect place to land after years of homeschooling on the move. “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Ps 100:5) #curatingthegood #graduated🎓 #wisebeyondheryears @graciethenerd @lafonte04 @westminsteroakmtn
Best Thanksgiving that I can remember. I am so gra Best Thanksgiving that I can remember. I am so grateful for my people!! 🤗 ❤️@graciethenerd @thecardboardqueen @lafonte04 
#Psalm8 #highlandlakes #birminghamalabama
My friend @amy_young1234 is so generous! She has f My friend @amy_young1234 is so generous! She has found a way to share her birthday with friends all year long. This past week, I had to privilege to be her #FOTW You can read about her plan to celebrate her birthday by celebrating others in the link to her blog at the end of this post. That’s SO like Amy. 🤗 https://www.messymiddle.com/52-cards-52-weeks-52-years/ #curatingthegood
  • Got Enough?
  • You Need THIS
  • Got Joy?
  • You’re Called to THIS
  • Got Good?
  • You Were Made for THIS

Copyright © 2025 · beloved theme by Restored 316

 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.