In our lesson today, we will study the Scriptures for insight on how to war against our flesh. This will be a reminder of the first lesson in this course on warring against the flesh, where we saw that we must seek the Lord and receive from Him a battle plan as to how to defeat gluttony and laziness.
Please read the following passage and answer the questions below:
2 Samuel 5:22-25 (NIV) Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
Question 3. David struck down the Philistines and won the battle. How did He win?
Notice a couple of thoughts on this passage:
David first inquired of the Lord. Seeking the Lord is the opposite of relying on ourselves, trusting in our skills, or looking to “common sense” for solutions.“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
David had a particular enemy, and the Lord gave David a battle strategy that was very specific to his situation. He had a precise way to follow God’s plan in his battle.
Similarly, since you and I have very specific enemies, we must receive from the Lord very specific plans to defeat them instead of making a good generic effort. The difference looks like this:
We can all agree that we must war against our flesh, right? It’s obvious. But the reason so many lose the war against the flesh is that they are generic in their approach. They make promises to stop overeating or stop giving in to fleshly living, but they never take the specific action needed to win the war.
Those who are victorious in the war against the flesh will have knelt at the foot of the cross and come to the throne of grace in prayer frequently. And as they pray God’s Word back to Him, He gives them a very specific plan.
God might tell you: Use Intermittent Fasting for most of the day and then eat a healthy dinner. Take the stairs today, park far from the grocery store entrance, and eat only one healthy meal. Eat two healthy meals today and fast from 2:00 PM today until noon tomorrow. Exercise for an hour today. Eat one healthy meal today, and walk for an hour. Fast today, and then have an enjoyable meal with your family who is coming over for dinner, but don’t overeat the dinner meal. Enjoy three small meals today. Fast today. Or any number of other instructions that will be unique to your situation.
Do you see the difference between generic plans and God-given specific battle plans? Generic plans might be good ideas or suggestions from other people and might be well-intentioned, but they don’t usually end in victory. In contrast, God-given battle plans always succeed when followed. We must seek the Lord and submit to His leading if we want to win the war against our flesh.
Question 4. Is your battle plan specific and resulting in success? Please share.
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I really love Linda's response to the above question. She wrote, "A few days ago I received the specific plan to fast until noon every day and then eat 2 healthy meals, following the lead of my hunger pains throughout the day. This has been the most successful battle plan to date as previously I thought I would die if I waited till noon to eat a meal. But it turns me to God all morning long in prayer so I submit my plans to him even before eating my first bite of the day."
Sarah, likewise, has received a great plan from the Lord and is following it daily. She says, "I’m a chronic dieter and I’ve never been able to stick with a plan like I have this one. The weight loss is slow due to hypothyroidism, but it’s happening. Most importantly I’m seeing how much better I feel when I follow my battle plan. I’ve also learned that I don’t need as much food as I think I do. I create meal plans and then don’t eat at least a quarter of what I thought I would."