‘The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.’ (v6) Romans 8:5–11
Scripture is clear; we choose to live by the flesh or by the Spirit. The flesh, in essence, is to live from a worldly point of view. It excludes God, or at least reduces God to a pattern of belief to which we only pay lip service. Our mortal lives consist of an ongoing battle between flesh and the Spirit.
The Spirit of God invites us to become heavenly-minded (Col. 3:1–4). Here we grow in our consciousness of God’s way, so very different to the ways of this world.
God challenges our natural instincts, for His way is not born from the deployment of our constituent parts; our physical, emotional and rational, mortal makeup.
We become conscious that knowing God is not the process of a moment of enlightenment, but rather the consequence of a journey. In choosing Christ, we self-enrol in ‘a school of God’s service’.
As such, we must do some work to bring our will into line with God’s will. We do this using our will and voluntarily making choices. Here we learn how to manage our appetites, those natural desires promising to satisfy our felt needs.
By this means, we grow closer to God. We acknowledge that not all appetites are good for us, and any appetite that we indulge can itself displace God from the primary focus of our life.
The Holy Spirit always seeks to lead us into the very presence of God and to live out of the deposit of faith within us (1 Tim. 6:20).
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Psa. 119:1–16; Deut. 30:11–20; Rom. 8:9–17; 1 Cor. 2:9–16.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: The Bible is clear that following Jesus engages us in a battle of wills; my will or God’s will. These battles occur daily, in our experience. Am I ready to fight to find God’s will for my life?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, You invite me to choose between Your will or my will. I desire to follow You, but I face many battles. Lord, come to my aid in the thick of each battle. Amen.’
Photo by Wes Grant on Unsplash
