The Custody Battle

"Our flesh and our spirit are in conflict, an internal battle to be in charge. It is a custody battle for the heart of every believer."

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. ~Psalms 37:5, 6

Within the heart of believers is a battle for supremacy over their life. It is the battle between flesh and spirit to completely commit to the way of the Lord. To commit, in this context, is ‘to turn completely over and release something; to place something in the trust or custody of someone else’.  By definition, then you are giving over your way to another’s way…trusting they will handle, manage, direct, and steward it properly and correctly.  The Lord directs us to place our life and life path in the custody of the Lord. 

Jesus said ‘I am the way’. When you place ‘your way’ in His custody, ‘His way’ now becomes ‘your way’. His decisions, His perspectives, and His provision are infused into your life. You then live in a different kingdom…His kingdom. When you COMPLETELY give Him custody and decision-making over your life, you are completely trusting His management and stewardship. This is the kingdom way. When you live the Kingdom way you will be led by the Spirit daily, weekly, annually along the way of life. 

Committing to His way brings forth the good things of His kingdom. The first good thing is that ‘He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn.’  You become a shining light in dark places.  This is the automatic result of His imputed righteous in your spirit-man which now, by your commitment and agreement, has custody of your soul and body.  He has custody!  You shine like the morning dawn, rising to shed light upon a darkened world through words, actions, prayer and worship. You stand out from and above the crowd as each morning dawns.

Secondly, He will make ‘the justice of your cause like the noonday sun’. Committing to Him makes His cause your cause. Therefore it will shine brightly from the highest point in the solar system…directly overhead illuminating everything below. The noonday sun has the shortest shadows…very little can hide! The good news of Jesus in you, under the stewardship of His Spirit, illuminates everything around you. You create an expanded kingdom footprint of His light wherever you go.

This sounds so simple, yet our flesh and our spirit are in conflict, an internal battle to be in charge. It is a custody battle for the heart of every believer. As long as the battle ebbs and flows there is never a clear victor and neither flesh nor spirit is satisfied. The Lord desires that you satisfy the spirit and starve the flesh thereby settling the custody dispute. Then, and only then, will you fully reap the rewards of your decisions; shining brightly in righteousness and illuminating the just cause of Christ everywhere you go. Settle the custody battle today! Commit to His way!