Romans 7.  The Christian who desires to please God and walk according to the resurrected life will immediately recognize a struggle.  Sin continues to live within him, and wage war against his good intentions. He will often have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  The sanctification that he experiences is a process by which the Holy Spirit keeps delivering the believer from his inner struggle. It is a walk in the wilderness, with failures and triumphs all along the way. The body of sin that was buried in baptism will constantly seek to reassert itself. The law, which is a good thing, will be used against this new life. Faith in this struggle is the faith that the God who rescued me from Egypt will carry me through to the promised land.

LORD, grant us the perseverance to go through the wilderness and keep seeking your rescue until the time of testing is over, and our sanctification is complete.