Spirit vs. Flesh

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

I made it through most of 2011 without barely any sicknesses at all. Then, all of a sudden, in the last month and a half, I have been sick 3 times. Bleh! The first time was a serious cold that left me in bed for 4 straight days with no appetite, serious headache, upper respiratory congestion, sore throat, cough, and drainage. The residual symptoms of that cold which I thought went away, re-emerged 2 weeks later and got me sick again. Bleh again! I lost 7 lbs alone just from those two sicknesses. New diet plan? Heck no. I just had lost my appetite. That is definitely not a healthy way to lose weight. Then, this past week, I caught the stomach flu that has been going around the city and it lasted about 3 days. Triple bleh! I am miserable when I'm sick. I mean, unless I'm dying, I usually show up to work, because I'm really committed to my job and love it there. But these sicknesses took the wind out of me and even made me stay home from work a day or two. When I'm sick, my whole body is weak and tired and I just want to lay in bed all day and sleep.

Oftentimes, when the body or flesh is weak, one has to be more in-tune with one's spirit. When your body is weakened by sickness, it makes you realize the strength (or lack of strength) that your spirit has. Satan knows when your flesh is suffering and knows that it is a good time to attack your spirit. We have to strengthen our spirit to stand up for faith and the Truth, especially during these specific times. Sickness is not the only time your flesh can be made weak. Flesh can also be manipulated by lust and desire. Our bodies crave love and physical affection, but the Lord allows that human pleasure only in certain, sanctified contexts such as in marriage.

God gives us many resources to use to strengthen our spirit in times when our flesh is weak. One of the main tools He provides us is His Word, the Bible. One can memorize scripture and repeat the Truth over and over again in your head to help remind you of the promises of the Lord. Another thing that helps me is to focus on how the flesh is only temporary in the here and now, but yet the spirit is eternal and long-lasting. So when I am suffering from a sickness or my body is craving some physical element of this world, I can remind myself of its fleeting nature. The sickness will not last forever and my human desires will not last forever. What will last forever is the spirit when we join Jesus in Heaven after this life has passed us by.