I watched my son as he dropped the Lego creation he just worked on, pieces scattering across the floor.

He deflated. His shoulders dropped and his face turned into a scowl. You could feel the weight of his anger as he stewed in self-pity.

Those were natural feelings.

But were they right?

I feel this same temptation throughout the day as things don’t go quite as I thought they should. It’s a battle of the flesh.

The battle is a refusal to let the flesh fester. A laying down of self, with all of its sinful bents, and picking up of the Spirit. A bending around the disappointment instead of allowing it to sharpen inside of us.

As we mature in Christ, the battleground of holiness moves from the outer, seen expressions of self, to the inner, unseen roots of self. And it’s in this battle of the hidden inner man I believe we truly become the overcomer the Lord calls us to.

Instead of being overcome by the temporal flesh, we can overcome by the eternal Spirit.

When we refuse to take on attitudes that are in opposition to God’s Spirit, we find the strength to prevail over the enemy and over our temptations. When we rule our spirit, Scripture tells us we are better than he who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).

It’s counted as a victory as we overcome in this battleground of holiness. And as we do, we are transformed more into the same image of Christ, from glory to glory.