But I keep under my body
1st Corinthians 9: 26, 27
I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Not as uncertainly- I'm not unsure about finishing the race of salvation, I'm running with confidence, and my confidence is the Lord (Proverbs 3:26), this is how I'm fighting- so fight I - yes I face great opposition in this race, opposition that demands that I fight. Not beating the air (speaking like a Christian but not living like a Christian, threatening the devil with the mouth but not using the spiritual authority we have in Jesus name), but with violence in the Spirit, calling fire from heaven by faith in Jesus name, casting down evil spirits of fear and malice, spirits of fornication and hatred. I can't be a surface Christian, I can't be passive or they'll overtake me.
But I keep under my body, I dinghy myself, when I feel like giving in to temptation, when I feel like having my own way, when I want to go according to how I see things. And bring it into subjection, I step in a deeper realm of the Spirit by praying, thinking about things the Lord said to me, fasting, using the word on myself, lest by any means, perhaps by any form of failure, any way of yielding to temptation (in public or in secret), when I've spoken the good word to others I myself am tainted with sin.
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