“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not….Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
—Romans 7:18, 24–25

These words from the apostle Paul are as true for you and me as they were for him. Nothing good dwells in our flesh, but we have victory through Messiah Jesus. How do we experience this victory? Only by depending on the Holy Spirit. We cannot overcome in our flesh.

Beloved, no matter how much we want to, we don’t have the power to do good without the enabling of the Holy Spirit. We are all created in the image of God, and because of this we see certain attributes in all human beings. Take, for example, the ability to show kindness. Even mothers who don’t know the Lord are, generally speaking, kind and loving to their children. This shows that because we are created in God’s image, certain parts of our nature reflect His goodness. But at the end of the day, humanity is in bondage to sin and separated from the life of the Spirit.

To transcend this spiritual darkness and enter into victory, we must live a life of dependency on the Holy Spirit. Only by following His leading will we be able to resist the desires of our flesh. Sometimes God sends trials because He wants to break us down so we will become wholly dependent on Him.

Father God, thank You for destining me to triumph in Messiah Yeshua. I know that no good thing dwells in my flesh, but as I depend on Your Spirit, You will lead me to victory. Help me to walk by Your Spirit.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Revelation (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2020), Used by permission.