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Romans 8:9 (NASB): However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you

When we receive Jesus, he deposits the Holy Spirit in us. But there come times when we can be a battlefield between what the Holy Spirit has planted within us and the pull of our old flesh. “The flesh” is a shorthand term for a range of things from outright sin, to bad motives, to various forms of self-righteousness. There are times when it can really accuse us. The good news is that Jesus has paid in full for us. His blood speaks louder to God for grace than any accusation can speak to God for judgement. And our true identity in Christ is not of the old flesh. We take our true identity from Jesus now: as adopted children of God, secure in a place at the family table, accepted in full, with purpose in life as we do what God sets before us to do. As we stay the course with Jesus, Philippians 2:13 (NASB): “…it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Therefore, we can daily lift our heads to our Father in heaven. We can walk with a light touch and not a heavy heart. And we can make our daily choices from this daily prayer: “Father, I commit my way to you this day. I choose to look up to Jesus more than down on to my failings. Set before me this day that which you want me to do. Cause me to want what you want me to want. Because whatever my failings, I’m still in your family.”