Victory in Christ

I know lots of people who are committed Christians but who seem to suffer in different ways in much the same way as someone who is not. This might include physical or emotional problems and for many, they just accept that this is the way it is for reasons that might be unknown or simply guessed. These problems then lead to guilt, fear, low self-esteem and more importantly a lack of ability to further the kingdom of God in whatever ministry you are gifted in.
I want to tell you however that this is not the way that God wants your life to be, He wants you to have victory against opposition, "it is for freedom that Christ has set you free" Gal 5.1
The next verse then tells us what we need to do, "do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery". What does Paul mean by a yoke of slavery? Well he is talking about religious slavery - wanting to improve yourself by good works - but I believe this is closely related to a Christians salvation from a sinful nature into a new kingdom where Jesus is in charge. The link is simple, when God is removed from the equation, you either have the state we are all born into (i.e. sin) or we have religiousness, a form of Godliness but denying its power (2 Tim 3:5). Either way, what the Bible teaches is that the life for a Christian takes 2 stages, as found in Romans 6: Death to the old life and a new life in Christ. These are talked about in terms of death and resurrection and are related also to baptism, the way in which we pass from justification (being forgiven) to salvation (living a new life). I think the church often teaches a single state conversion experience when it is very important that as well as accepting forgiveness - a free gift of God in Jesus - that we also are baptised into a new life.
OK, many people have been baptised but still suffer in themselves why is this? Well the salvation or new life talked about in Romans 6 leads to a state where we should no longer be slaves to sin (remember Gal 5) and to then count ourselves dead to sin (Rom 6:11) but alive to God. This sounds like an accusation but we need to have a more rounded or complete view about sin and its effects. No-one likes to be told they are sinful (even if its true!) or even that the sin they commit has a large effect on their life, especially if they have been prayed for etc but sin is not just personal, it is not always conscious and it doesn't always have immediate or complete affect. Our entire world is in a sinful state and this affects the physical world as well as our lives. We interact with people who are sinful, our close friends and family could be affecting us, things that have happened in the past, particularly things that might seem fairly mundane like rejection or unforgiveness, can also have an effect. The best way to see all of this is actually simple. Life comes from God, initially when we are created and daily as we exist. If we are separate from God, we are separated from that life, our own life given to us by God slowly degrades and we experience sin and death. Sadly, this is also true of the believer who either dabbles in sin, does not have past issues dealt with or more importantly for this article, who does not "count themselves dead to sin".
Jesus' death has been accomplished - it is fact. The victory over sin and death is accomplished - it is fact, this victory available to believers by repentence and baptism is a fact. We need to take hold of this and live it! It is not an accident that Romans 6 and Galatians 5 tell us to actively chose against the sinful nature, not just our actions but our thoughts or our orientation towards it. If we chose to believe God's truth instead of the devil'l lies, we actually have the power in Christ to throw off the oppression we face.
Suppose you suffer from headaches. You have had prayer and have decided there is nothing specifically wrong from your past experiences and that to all intents and purposes you should not have them. What do you do? You keep praying but when you get a headache, you allow yourself to feel guilty about your lifestyle (which you think might be causing your headaches), or insecure that you are not a good Christian or even bad that you are being spiritually attacked for no reason. This way of thinking then just makes things worse, the headaches come more frequently because you allow sinful thinking to dominate your mind (or rather thinking in a way that relates to the world and not God) and then you can't find a way out.
As a believer you have a very specific way out. When you start getting headaches, you take a break, you ask God to show you if there is a cause (e.g. maybe you're simply tired!) and if not, you claim the promises of God from the Bible and you do NOT allow yourself to feel oppressed or under attack. You trust God to teach you and keep you through it. You do not tell yourself that because you are not a good Christian, you have brought these attacks (for sure we reap what we sow and God might allow something to teach us but if He doesn't reveal his teaching then there is no teaching to be had). We claim victory, we align our thoughts with the victory of Jesus as described in the Bible and then we praise God that He is amazing!