I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? – (Romans 7: 21-24)

Apostle Paul speaks for himself and us as he describes the adversity within his own body. Never mind the Jews who oppose his outreach to the Gentiles. Forget about the skeptical Gentiles who remember his past as a persecutor of Christians. Without even mentioning them, Paul had plenty of adversity on the inside. Here, in Romans 7, he writes about what is no less than a war within his members. He acknowledges that, in his mind, he has the will to do what is right, but at the same time the carnality of his flesh fights against that will. More often than not, the carnal flesh overrules and overrides his will to the point that he fails to do what he knows to be right. This constant battle between what is spiritually correct and carnally commanded goes on in us, as well, even now.

Then, in 2 Corinthians 12: 7 he records: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” This adversity is not merely a mental matter or some psychological struggle. It is an excruciating physical phenomenon – a thorn in the flesh. Hence, Paul not only has the spiritual vs carnal war, he also has a physical wound in his body. Like so many of us, he had to wrestle with mental, spiritual and physical adversity within himself all at the same time and all of the time.

He asks a question that we might ask. “Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” His answer comes quickly and succinctly. Thank God for Jesus Christ. He is our heart fixer and mind regulator. He is our comforter, keeper and a healer.