This lesson focused on Galatians 5:16: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
The desires of the flesh include gratifying our desire for food whenever we want without regard for godly boundaries. If we do not want to continue to live as those who gratify our flesh repeatedly through overeating (or whatever the struggle may be), then we must walk by the Spirit.
The question becomes, what does it mean to walk in, with, or by the Spirit, then? If that is the way to be free from indulging my flesh, then I want to do it! I need to know what it means!
The author provides a quote from Matthew Henry (a biblical commentator) to help with this as well as a deeper look at the context of Galatians 5:16.
To me, walking in the Spirit means that I am focusing more on what my soul needs as a constant theme in my life than I am on what the flesh demands. I am prayerful and practicing gratitude. I welcome the presence of God’s Word in my life and allow it to guide me through this life. That means I have to spend time reading, studying, and meditating on it prayerfully. Then, as I go through life, each moment I can choose to capture for the Lord or for the flesh. I don’t minimize my choices, but know that each one will add to the likelihood of my feeding my flesh or heeding the Spirit. I will indulge my flesh or I will feed my soul. I will build a closer connection to the Lord, or I will build a wall. I choose to capture the moment for hte Lord, I choose to heed the Spirit, I choose to feed my soul. I choose to build a closer connection to the Lord.
As I continue to reject Satan’s accusations when I DO blow it, as I continue to believe that the previous moment has passed and can’t be recaptured and quit condemning myself for past mistakes, as I grab a hold of THIS moment and ask “Lord, what will you have me be, do, say, think, feel (even, eat) in this moment?” I will have a direction and I can follow it. There will come peace. Joy…all the fruit of the Spirit listed there in Galatians 5. It will be in my life as it is the life of the Spirit that emmerges in and through me.
But it is a step by step heeding of His voice. One babystep at a time. One moment at a time. One thought at a time.
What can I do today to be sure that I am more likely to walk in the Spirit? If I walk in the Spirit I will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
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