The Battle Within

Read: Psalm 86

Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Psalm 86:11

IN WORD Is there a Christian alive who has not struggled with a dual nature? Probably not. We who are gloriously born of the Holy Spirit of God are also genetically confirmed, card-carrying descendants of Adam. The Spirit enables us to live godly lives, but our tendency to do so is sporadic. While our spirit is often willing, the flesh remains weak. The Jekyll-and-Hyde syndrome may be common to all mankind, but it is especially common to the redeemed. Two natures in one body can make for an exhausting struggle. Are you exhausted yet? Don’t think you are alone. You’re not.

The burden of the divided heart is common in Scripture. It is the burden of which Paul wrote in Romans 7—“I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (v. 18). It is the same contradiction Peter felt, claiming one evening that he could never forsake his Lord, then denying Him three times the same dark night. Every one of us has—at least occasionally—known the anguish of a divided soul.

A false solution to the problem has become epidemic. It is to resign oneself to the lower of the two natures, forfeiting the call to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15). Mistakenly calling true holiness “legalism,” we can become far too accepting of our corruption. We sometimes even embrace it. We give up the battle and let the old nature win.

IN DEED There is a wiser way, and it is the work of God’s Spirit, not of ourselves. We will never be completely delivered from the fight until we are in heaven, but victory is possible. Paul said so (Romans 7:24-25), and after Pentecost, Peter would agree. God answers the prayer of the psalmist; an undivided heart is possible. Ask for it daily! Be aware of all that would compete for the throne of God in your heart. Take your attention off of it, whatever it is, and put it on the breathtaking beauty of God. Be captivated by Him alone. If your heart is immersed in Him, sin will have no room to thrive.

No one ever lost out by excessive devotion to Christ.

—H. A. IRONSIDE