The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

This morning in quiet time as I was meditating on the battle that goes between flesh versus spirit, God brought something to mind. I used to tape (Plaster sheetrock) houses for Habitat for humanity (free of charge). In the beginning, things went well. I'd get there and the sheetrock would be up and the house swept clean. I'd set up shop, put my stilts on and start stringing the first coat starting with ceiling flats on the ceilings.  Then the corners Room by room. Then When the ceiling was done I started on the floors and repeated the process. The average Habitat house would take me three days to a week to finish. Then church volunteers began showing up ready and eager to help me. But, instead of helping me they were hindering me. Constantly in my way and completely skilless to the trade of taping. Now, I'd get there in the morning and find folding tables and chairs with donuts and other goodies on them. I would take a quick walkthrough of the house and find a disaster of plaster on the walls in the rooms the volunteers had worked in after I had left for the day. I got on well with the supervisor and explained the problems they were creating for me  I knew the volunteers meant well, but they were making things worse and not better for me. (Drywall Taping is a trade that takes years to learn. You can't teach or explain to people how to tape sheetrock and expect them to learn it overnight). It was getting out of hand with me trying to work around these people. Moving this and working around that while they drank coffee and pestered me with questions on how to tape drywall.  I told her I'm not there to give these (well-meaning) people a seminar. I have other work I'm responsible to get done. If the volunteers really want to "help me" they can clear the house of all their stuff and I'd let her know when the house is finished. This way I could get it done by myself days before I would with them "helping me". She agreed and knew I was right. The problem was the church folk committee for this particular church had committed their congregation to so many hours of drywall plastering for Habit for humanity. It would make them look bad to other churches if they didn't follow through on it. In other words, each church within that city would volunteer so many hours of a certain trade. It was all about church politics. It was all about pride and saving face. It was hard for me to believe these Pastors and their volunteers were that petty but they were. I asked if the supervisory could let them have a bible study or prayer group or just drink coffee and eat donuts until their hours of service were fulfilled and then I could come in and do my work?...... No. They had to be there working with or without me. After the third or fourth house, I gave up. I just couldn't work like that. What I could get done in three days to a week (with little sanding required) will take them a month with tons of sanding and still look shady. So, how does all this tie into the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? How often do we pray to God for someone or something we battle and consciously or unconsciously refuse to fully surrender it to God? We have to show God how bad we want this prayer answered and so we insert our will into what God is trying to do for us. We sabotage what God is doing. When I'm weak, then I'm strong because we have nothing to add to the work God is doing. 100% surrender to the will of God is a lifelong learning process. Especially for us as Americans. God's ways are not our ways. We have to unlearn a lot of what our culture has told us about success and winning when it comes to the things of God. The spirit IS willing but..... we can't get out of the way long enough to let it happen. I'm going to let, Trust, and have faith in God be my mantra for 2020. I believe some things are going to change in a mighty way. I hope they do for you too. Be blessed.