Overcoming the Flesh
by Michael Doyle

How then do we find our way
Throughout our present and everyday
What then will bring us to joy
Than in a buoyancy we can employ

It is to live as if fully persuaded
To live the Christian life not evaded
But living each day in its length
Living these through God's good strength

Even the strongest yield to temptation
Despite desperate nobility and dedication
Overcoming the flesh despite our perspiration
Comes only through living in God's inspiration

We find our way by surrendering emotion
Giving ourselves up to truest devotion
Open your ears and you will hear it
Surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit

It takes courage to ask God to reveal
The every aspect inside we cannot still
Errors and mistakes yield to God's will
To learn to do right and not just feel

Living by heart, soul, body, and lips
Within God's love, that can't be eclipsed
There in the ways of absolute submission
Is the way that surpasses our human condition

All this can only be given through trust
It's that place when we arrive as we must
That must be when we come to truly believe
All of the words in obedience that we receive

In wanting to live a godly life's contentment
We surrender at last and remove our resentment
Giving over even the final bit of our control
Allowing God to be the keeper of our souls

It's a matter of this best straight up math
That adding two and two keeps our feet on the path
Waking up every morning to first light's devotion
Giving ourselves to God's discipline through dedication

The blood of Jesus cleans us from our mortal sin
No matter how many times, again and again
As we live this waking prayer and in the light
Of seeking only to live our lives best and right

(c) August 23, 2022  Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved