Walking by the Spirit: at each choice of the day, asking what he inspires
"Walking" is an image from daily life: one step after another, on the ordinary path. Paul uses it to speak of the Christian life: walking in the Spirit. This quest invites you to read Galatians 5:16-25, then, all through the day, to ask yourself at each choice one question: what does the Spirit inspire here?
What it looks like in your day
Read the passage. Paul contrasts two ways of living: walking according to the flesh (selfish desires: jealousy, anger, rivalries, lusts) and walking according to the Spirit (the fruit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness). Read it slowly, once.
Identify the two tendencies in you. The flesh is not your body, but your tendency to live for yourself, far from God. The Spirit is God's presence pushing you toward love and truth. Both are at work in you.
Ask the question at each choice. Faced with a decision, a reaction or a word, ask yourself: what is the flesh pushing me to do? What is the Spirit inspiring me to do? A few examples:
- A colleague criticizes you: the flesh wants to hit back, the Spirit inspires patience.
- A purchase tempts you: the flesh wants to satisfy the craving, the Spirit recalls contentment.
- A person needs help: the flesh says "Not my problem," the Spirit invites kindness.
- A grudge returns: the flesh feeds it, the Spirit opens the way to peace.
Take the step of the Spirit. When you spot what he inspires, take the step, however small.
Depend, don't force. Walking by the Spirit is not an effort of pure willpower: it is asking for his help at every moment. "Holy Spirit, help me."
Take stock in the evening. Where did you walk by the Spirit? Where did you follow the flesh? Give thanks and ask forgiveness.
If you are in a hurry, remember the question: "What does the Spirit inspire?" If you are shy, this work is inward. If your struggle is heavy, don't stay alone.
What the Bible says
Here is the passage:
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh": the promise is that whoever walks by the Spirit is not dominated by the flesh. The text lists the works of the flesh (hatred, wrath, strife, envyings, drunkenness...) and the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance). Notice the last verse: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." The life received calls for a matching walk.
Pitfalls to avoid
Setting body against spirit. "The flesh," in Paul, doesn't mean the body, which is good, but the selfish orientation.
Turning it into legalism. Walking by the Spirit is not applying a list. It is a living dependence.
Getting discouraged by falls. You will sometimes follow the flesh. Come back, ask forgiveness, set out again.
Judging yourself harshly. The struggle between flesh and Spirit is normal in a believer. Don't take it as a sign of failure.
Wanting to master everything. Fruit ripens with time. Don't force it.
Today, read Galatians 5:16-25. At each choice, ask yourself what the Spirit inspires.