AUGUST 6, 2026

   “When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.” 

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

PSALM 78

32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;

in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

33So he ended their days in futility

and their years in terror.

34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;

they eagerly turned to him again.

35They remembered that God was their Rock,

that God Most High was their Redeemer.

36But then they would flatter him with their mouths,

lying to him with their tongues;

37their hearts were not loyal to him,

they were not faithful to his covenant.(78:32-37)

ROMANS 7

21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

JOURNAL 

The reality of being human is that I am going to be a slave to something, and perhaps the easiest thing to become enslaved to is the thing closest to me: myself. My body wants comfort, my emotions want satisfaction, my fears want security, my pride wants recognition, and my mind wants control. None of these things are necessarily evil, but when they become the authority directing my life, they become my master.

That is why following God cannot be a casual decision. It requires the daily surrender of my body, emotions, desires, fears, plans and understanding. And even with that commitment, I will struggle. Paul struggled. Israel struggled. Everyone who has seriously pursued God has struggled. The struggle does not mean God has abandoned me. It means there is something worth fighting for.

But I do not struggle without hope. Romans 7 ends not in despair but with, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Every time I surrender fear, desire, comfort or control, I make more room for God. I will serve something today. Something will capture my heart and direct my steps. So today I choose again to surrender myself to God, knowing that the struggle is real, but so is the joy that waits within and beyond it.

5Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.^a

PROVERBS 3:5-6