Numbers 19:11
“He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.”
When a person gets saved, the one thing they still have to deal with is their flesh. Your soul may be saved, but your flesh is still corrupt. Throughout the Scriptures we are told to make no provision for the flesh and to crucify it. How you deal with your flesh will determine the degree of victory you will experience in the Christian life.
In the verse above, God showed Israel what they were to do when they touched a dead body. The dead body is truly symbolic of our flesh. When you look at how God tells Israel to deal with a dead body, you will see the resemblances of how we can gain victory over the flesh.
First, every person must choose to deal with their flesh. In this passage of Scripture, there are some who properly dealt with their flesh and there were others who ignored God’s instructions. You are going to have to purposely deal with your flesh. Ignoring your problems will not help you. Let me ask you, what is your “dead body”that you seem to struggle? We all have that one area that is our besetting sin.
Second, you must deal with your flesh quickly. If these people didn't deal with the dead body, the corruption of the dead body would begin to spread. Whatever your dead body is, you are going to have to choose to deal with it or it will continue to corrupt you. The longer you don't deal with your flesh, the more the corruption will spread throughout your life. Ignoring the corruption you have will not cause it to go away. You must admit you have a problem with your flesh and deal with it quickly to keep its corruption from destroying your life.
Third, you need help from another to overcome your flesh. Verse 19 says, “And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean…” You will never overcome the corruption of your flesh by spending time with a group of people who have the same problem. Putting two dead bodies together doesn't make them come alive. Yet, so many times we think we need a support group of people who have the same problem to overcome our flesh. No! You need to spend time with someone who doesn't struggle with your problem so that their strength can strengthen you. Don't be so proud that you won't go to another and ask for help. If your flesh is getting the best of you, go to someone who can help you overcome the corruption of your flesh.
Fourth, overcoming the corruption of the flesh will take time. The process of becoming clean from the dead body was a seven day process. You may get the help of another, but it will still take time to remove the corrupt habits your flesh has obtained. Don't get discouraged along the way and give up. Keep on battling the corruption in your life and realize it will take time.
Do you want to get victory over your flesh? Then realize how corrupt it is. Identify the area where you have problems. Get the help you need and don’t give up. You can have victory over your flesh “…because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)