GALATIANS 5:25
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
My understanding of walking in the Spirit is to move from a self-controlled to a Spirit-controlled life. While this is one of the easier doctrines to understand, it is likewise one of the most difficult to accomplish on a consistent basis.
Whether we admit it or not, most believers are controlled at times by something other than the Spirit. Maybe we're controlled by the rages of anger and just can't seem to overcome our emotions. Maybe we can't quit thinking about that new car we want to buy, to the point we both wake up and go to sleep dreaming of how it drives. Maybe we can't resist the lure of internet images, feeding our lusts until the need for daily adrenaline is now in control.
And of course, the list goes on and on, though we need to understand that not everything which controls us is immoral in isolation. For example, a job is normally a good thing, but for some, it begins to control the best energies of our day. Same with being a parent, with the demands of that activity stealing all of our time, with none left for God. Even good things become controlling when they keep us from spending time with the Spirit.
I have to wonder if God looks at us and says we're given to idol worship, replacing our love for him with a love for other things. But even if he doesn't call this idol worship, we're surely not pleasing to our Lord when not living as under control of the Spirit.
Maybe it would be a good thing to commit to getting up every morning and asking the Spirit to allow us to walk with the Lord. Just as it took God's power to bring about new life in the Spirit ("If we live in the Spirit"), we also need God's power to help us walk in the Spirit. And just like our salvation, that power only comes by a touch of the Spirit as we surrender ourselves to ask the Lord for his help.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I want to walk in your Spirit every day. I invite you to fill me with the power of your daily presence. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment