The war against my soul
Martha Olawale
“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11-12
If life had buzz buttons for each time I missed my step, their sound would have blocked my ears. Each morning, I face new challenges because everything from the alarm clock’s ringing stimulates my senses, calling for my attention. As I go through the day, I see things I disagree with and want to scream, but with a nudge from the Holy Spirit, I struggle to be quiet. My emotions call for anger, but the Holy Spirit says, “Walk in grace.” My demanding human appetite pushes for hastiness, while the Holy Spirit calls for patience.
To say yes to God, I have to consciously place my hands in His and allow Him to walk me through the different emotions within me. Like you, although I love to believe that I own it, I am learning, sometimes the hard way, that my life is His to lead and for me to steward. The struggle for the soul's rest will persist until we surrender, allowing God to teach us rather than trying to live on our terms.
While God’s grace is sufficient for His children (2 Corinthians 12:9), Paul's urge “to abstain” is a demand for us, not God. It calls for our unwavering intentionality to avoid things that can encourage our sinful desires. You can’t push against the tide without knowing how to swim or ride on the waves without a floatable device. If you try to, you’ll drown.
One of the most abused words in Christianity is grace. It is often mistaken as an enabler instead of a defender. It’s not an afterthought; It’s a friend whose relationship with us is mutualistic and flourishes in our surrender. When we run our thoughts through the filter of grace before we act, It teaches us and gives us the power to honor God. It’s there to strengthen us when we are weak and to lift us when we slip. But we can’t block it out of decision-making and chant it as a defense from a distance.
To fully harness the power of God’s grace to battle the war against our souls, we must be ready to live responsibly. Don’t poke sin in the nose and call on grace to avoid its bite. Listen to its caution and resist (James 4:7) before the fall. The responsibility is not on God’s grace to look away from sin but on us. While grace can catch us when we fall, we have to deal with the dizziness and discomfort of carelessly tripping over the edge of a cliff.
The war against our souls is unceasing, demanding our constant vigilance and commitment to honoring God. If I know the source of the stimulant for my unrest, I should be wise to avoid hanging out with it or having it on my life’s speed dial. A soul’s battle won is fought with the blood of Christ and God’s grace, so to win, we must live conscious of the price Christ paid for our sin and embrace God’s grace as a constant companion giving us the power to live above sin.
