"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." (Galatians 5:16-17 NASB)
A friend of mine recently said to me, "Even though God has proved His faithfulness over and over, I still worry! I don't understand why!" His quandary is common to all Christians. Because that question mark is even in our minds, is proof of our new nature in Christ. If you wonder why you do something or think something that is contrary to what you know goes against the character of God, instead, ask this question, "why do I wonder why?" My friend's question is a subtle attack on who God says he is.
The enemy has us focused on the wrong thing. He uses shame, guilt, and doubt as weapons to attack our identity. If Satan can keep you and me from understanding our identity, he can keep us in a state of mental and emotional defeat. If I doubt the validity of my relationship with Christ and that produces anxiety, that's a good thing! Anxiety is an appropriate emotion when there is a fear of losing something.
When I was twenty-one, for the first time in my Christian life, doubt about my salvation hit me like a ton of bricks. It wasn't subtle, it was debilitating! As soon as the doubt seized my mind, I was overwhelmed with fear. I feared eternal death. For the first time in my life, I wasn't sure what would happen to me if I died. Satan had me right where he wanted me. My focus from that point forward was on me, not on God.
When Paul uses the word "flesh," he is referring to a coping mechanism or an operating system. Flesh is anything we do to get our needs met apart from God. The system of flesh puts the focus on self. The flesh system is the enemy of expressing Christ's life through my life. In other words, when I want to behave in a manner that pleases God, the flesh system will often raise its ugly head and subvert my ultimate intention. That is the answer to my friend's quandary. He wants to completely trust God with everything that he is, but his flesh produces worry. Worry takes the focus off of Christ's life in him and places it on himself and what he can do apart from Christ.
This battle takes place in our minds. God speaks His truth into our minds and the enemy speaks His lies into our minds. Now we have a choice. Our spirit is one with God (1 Cor. 6:17). In our spirits we are in total agreement with God, however, our flesh is not Spirit friendly. Satan will use our flesh to subvert God's truth. If we buy into the lie, we are sunk! This is why Paul said, "...so that you may not do the things that you please." Flesh is what keeps us from living out of Christ's Life, it's not you (the real you in Christ). Most Christians read this passage and assume what they please is contrary to what God pleases. That misunderstanding is a direct assault from Satan on your very identity in Christ!
Don't trust your flesh. Trust Christ in you. He is constantly leading us into life and peace in every moment we walk here on this earth. When Satan accuses you, causing you to doubt your true identity, believe who God says you are, His beloved!
