Walking with the Spirit

“I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 CSB)

Christians are people who “walk by the spirit.” To “walk” by the Spirit means simply to “live” by the Spirit, and it further means to live a life that is guided by the Holy Spirit. When we come to faith, God puts His Spirit in us to guide us from within, so that we can live a God-honoring life.

There is always within us a tension, however. We are, in fact, physical beings who are of the flesh, and our tendency is to live by the flesh. The works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, promiscuity, selfishness, and a whole host of evils, which Paul enumerated in Galatians 5:19-20. These works of the flesh are in opposition to what the Holy Spirit desires for us, and what He desires for us is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.

So, how do we get from living by the flesh to living by the Spirit? It takes the crucifixion of the works of the flesh. Paul wrote, “Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” That means that we have made an intentional decision to reject a life that is dominated by the works of the flesh, and that we have asked God’s Spirit to produce in and through us the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit has made us alive, so we decide to walk with Him. We walk with Him much in the same way we might walk with a friend. We walk at the same pace, in the same direction, and toward the same goal.

In humility before the Lord, may we each make a daily, intentional decision to walk by the Spirit.

Lord, Our desire is for the desires of the Holy Spirit within us to be fulfilled today and each day, for Your glory. Amen.