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Friend, from 'wretched man' to victorious son!

Romans 7:24-25 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. 

Romans 8:1-2  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  2  But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 

Every believer walking the path of sanctification soon discovers that the Christian life is a battleground—not because we are weak, but because we have been awakened. When the Spirit makes us alive, the war between flesh and Spirit intensifies. This inner conflict is not evidence of failure; it is evidence of formation. It means the Spirit is at work, confronting what once ruled us.

Paul himself understood this war well. The apostle cried out with honesty: “The things I want to do, I don’t do… and the things I hate, I do.” (Romans 7:15-25) An unbeliever did not speak these words; they came from a man being refined by the fire of holiness. And then he reaches the breaking point of every soul that longs to be fully surrendered: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) In that cry, human strength collapses, and divine grace steps forward.

But Paul does not remain in the agony of Romans 7. He refuses to let the struggle speak louder than the Savior. Immediately, he lifts his eyes from his weakness to his Redeemer and declares: “I thank God—through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord!” This is the turning point of every believer’s journey. Identity rescues us where self-effort fails. Grace steps in where striving ends. What the flesh cannot overcome, union with Yeshua (Jesus) secures.

Romans 7 exposes the battle, but Romans 8 reveals the victory. Paul steps forward with boldness and proclaims: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua… for the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah has set me free.” The struggle is real, but the victory is more real. The flesh is loud, but the Spirit is stronger. The conflict runs deep, but our identity in Yeshua runs deeper still.

Our wrestlings do not define us; we are defined by our union with Yeshua. Our failures do not shape us; we are shaped by His righteousness. We are not condemned in our weakness; His Spirit empowers us. The walk of a believer is not perfection—it is perseverance. It is the daily choosing of truth over temptation, Spirit over flesh, and identity over impulse. And slowly, steadily, the inner man is transformed into the image of Yeshua. We may groan like Paul, but we will also rise like Paul. We may struggle, but we will not be overcome.

Friend, do not fear the battle within you, for the very struggle you feel is the proof that the Spirit of the Living God dwells inside you. Do not bow to shame—rise in your identity. Do not let the voice of the flesh define what the blood of Yeshua has already settled. Lift your eyes from weakness to the One who is your strength. In Yeshua, there is no condemnation, no defeat, no final fall. The same Spirit that raised Yeshua from the dead is breathing victory into you now. Shake off every label of failure and stand as the redeemed son or daughter you truly are. Declare with Paul, “Thanks be to God—through Yeshua the Messiah my Lord!” Rise, beloved—your struggle is real, but your triumph is assured.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George & Baht Rivka (Mississippi)