Have you ever wondered why we are so competitive as athletes and coaches? Why when we get onto the playing field we take on a whole new persona? The competitive nature to win comes out in us all. We sacrifice for the team! We lay down that bunt or make the block so that the rest of the team can rejoice in the victory.

Our flesh is competitive, but so is our Spirit. In Galatians 5, Paul talks about this very thing. Our flesh and our Spirit are at war with each other. The things of God are always and will always be completely different from the things of the flesh.

We battle things on the field and off the field daily as we go through life. From temptation to lust, fits of anger, idolatry, envy or drunkenness (Galatians 5:19-21), everyone of us deals with something that causes us to step into the flesh. What we must realize is that just as God provided us with the equipment for the athletic field, He has also provided us (even more so) with the equipment we need to run the race of life. In Ephesians 6, Paul describes the armor of God: "Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's Word."

God has provided all we need. The rest is up to us.