Apostle Paul reminds us of conflict in Romans 7: 15-25.

In verse 15 he describes the struggle:

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Apostle Paul is conflicted: That which he shouldn’t do, he does. That which he must do, he doesn’t.

He wants to do good, but he ends up doing bad. He has a mind that wants to do good, but a body that does bad.

Conflict.

His mind wars against his body, which has been hijacked by sin.

Although he wants to do good, the evil within him sometimes causes him to do things that he hates.

So he moans, as he says in Romans 8:23, waiting for the redemption of his body, the resurrection and the ultimate victory over his sinful nature.

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” [Verse 24].

How will I escape the sinful nature that fights within me?

Paul knows where his deliverance will come from:

“Thanks be to God, who delivers me [present tense] through Jesus Christ our Lord!” [verse 25a].

Handling a conflict is never easy. As much as we might wish it were otherwise, conflict is sometimes unavoidable; when it does arise, though, our natural inclination should be to turn to God, who alone can redeem us.