Livin’ in the Flesh Blues

“Livin’ in the Flesh Blues” was a song Marci and I recorded in 1999. Written by our friend Dan Whittemore, the lyrics are so relatable.

“What’s the use? Why do I even try? Every time I do . . . I soon run dry. That’s when I start to ooze . . . those livin’ in the flesh blues.”

Can you relate?

I love playing the blues on the piano. Marci loves singing the blues. Neither of us like feeling the blues.

Did you know B.B. King was not the original “King of the Blues?” It was King David. A master at the blues harp, many of David’s psalms show him being brutally honest about his inability to do right apart from God. Hear his cry . . .

“I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me? I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.” Psalms‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭3‬, ‭6‬ ‭military,

At times, the apostle Paul also sang those livin’ in the flesh blues.

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. Oh, what a miserable person I am!” Romans 7:18,24

I second that emotion! Many times I’ve felt miserable because of my inability to do what I know I should do. There is a war going on inside me. My flesh is hopelessly weak. By “my flesh” I mean those selfish desires that cause me to do things my way.

So how do I change my tune? How do I stop singing the blues?

“For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13.

‭The Holy Spirit (who is the Spirit of Jesus), changes our “blues” to “praise” when we let Him have control.

When I stop living for me, crucify my flesh with its selfish desires, and surrender to the Spirit’s power . . . only then will I lose . . . those livin’ in the flesh blues!

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16