Learning to Walk in the Spirit
Dr. Valson Abraham
What is the secret to dealing with temptations and worldly desires?
Apostle Paul answers this question simply: “Walk in the
Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
What Paul is saying is: a person cannot walk in the Spirit
and fulfill the lusts of the flesh at the same time. We will do either one or the other.
“Walking in the Spirit” means learning how to live out the
life of God given to us when He gave us the Holy Spirit at our first moment of
trust in Him.
The only One who has ever fully succeeded at walking
consistently in the Spirit is Jesus Christ.
The rest of us are much more inconsistent in our spiritual walks. Even as spiritual and faithful a Christian as
evangelist Billy Graham at 95 says that he still daily confesses his sins
before the Lord.
It is easy to worry about our failures, but it helps us to
know that learning to walk in the Spirit is actually a lifelong process. There are things we can learn to do that will
help that process along:
Know who you are.
That is, make Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross the source of
your identity—not your job, not your education, not your family, not your
earthly goods and ambitions. Know that
you are both body and spirit. Know that
God is your Father, that He is on your side, that He wants you to succeed. Jesus knew that Peter would become a wavering
coward under pressure and that he would deny him, but He still called him “the
rock.” He knew what Peter would become,
and He focused on Peter’s possibilities.
In the end, Peter listened only to Him, not his glaring failures. What possibilities does Jesus see in you?
Let your spirit dominate.
The desires of the world demand attention, but they soon pass away. Learn to recognize them for what they are and
say “no” when they seek to dominate your thoughts and actions. Learn to put God first and give Him
control. This may take many trials and
errors, but every time you succeed, you build a foundation for future success.
Think “kingdom thoughts.”
Know that God’s kingdom ultimately triumphs. Learn to develop thought patterns that
reflect God’s ways, concerns and goals.
This means learning to study the Bible in a regular and systematic way
and letting the Holy Spirit apply it to your life. Begin where you are. The Holy Spirit will lead you to the next
steps. Don’t get discouraged with your
lack of knowledge. He is more patient
with you than you are with yourself.
Pray and listen. See
prayer as a dialogue with God. Learn to
listen as well as to speak. Learning to
listen to God is an exciting experience.
When you have learned to discern His voice, you will want more and more,
because God always speaks words (in surprising ways) that build your spirit and
encourage you in spite of your failures.
Let Him daily reveal His grace through His matchless words to you.
Live harmoniously.
Learn to live in peace with God and others. Remember that God loves others as much as He
loves you. Avoid judging others through
gossip, slander and bitterness. Don’t
become a source of divisions. Learn to
let God fight for you. Ask God to help you to be quiet and wait on Him. Go by His timetable, not yours.
Examine yourself. Let
the Bible help you do this. Be honest
with God and yourself. Stop hiding and
rationalizing your sins. Let God show
you the “junk” in your life He wants removed, and let Him help you remove it.
Know your weaknesses.
We all have them, so know them.
Give those weaknesses to the Holy Spirit and seek His help during
temptation and pressure. Don’t let your
weaknesses and failures discourage you.
Remember—God is on your side.
Know your Helper. The
Holy Spirit is your best friend and mentor, so learn to know and trust Him
fully. Take all your troubles to
Him.
The apostle Paul was learning even as we must learn. From his own experience, he has good advice
for all of us in this process of learning (and sometimes failing) to walk
perfectly in the Spirit: “…forgetting
what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the
goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians
3:13, 14)
As we look forward with Christ, others who hunger for
righteousness will notice our growing walk with the Lord, and they will want to
know the truth that sets them free.
Father God, I thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to set me free from the power of sin and death. I thank you for your Holy Spirit who enables me to live a life that is pleasing to you. Help me to learn how to walk in the power of your Holy Spirit that I may gain victory over sin and live your immortal life, even now. In Jesus’ Name. Amen
