War (Poem)

War written by Johnie Levell

January 2, 2022

I saw my opponent looking up from the stream 

I saw my adversary in the shadows of the trees

I closed my eyes 
And inside my head
Saw the spies
Their plans decided

The persuasive foe whispers in my sleep
Take a bite, it’s alright, come and join me

My eyes open wide 
Is this real or a dream
I see no danger
Is peace what it seems

But my sword and my gun
Glow bright in my hands
Do I trust my instincts?
Do I have innocence?

I hear the whispers when I’m alone
Take a bite, it’s alright, come and join us

Surrender is the weapon
Humble is the blade
Love fumigates and kills the enemy within

Surrender -
Spirit carry me.
Humility -
Rewrite me.
Why am I fighting the One who freed me?
Why am I weak against my enemies?

A thousand versions of evil me
Seeking my defeat
Held back by the Light, Jesus Christ,
He is constantly rewriting me.

Based on Galatians 5:  Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Romans 7:21-25:  

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.