living by the Spirit
One night after many long nights of feeling discontent with my spiritual walk with God, I couldn’t fall asleep, or rather I didn’t want to sleep until I figure out what is bothering me. I reached a limit with myself; I crossed some imaginary line that I set with myself – a line that defines what level of maturity and behavior I should accept in myself – and that troubles me.
I also feel spiritually dry and distant from God. I cannot not hear God’s voice or discern His will for me. I feel the guilt of sins in my life but even more convicting is the feeling of disappointment and frustration at myself for personal character weaknesses. And there is yet one more feeling running through my heart – I’m not free.
My inner voice leads me to read through Galatians - wasn’t there a passage about having freedom in Christ? So I begin at chapter one and read all the way through in one sitting. After I finish, I think about which verses stand out to me the most:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
The words “and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” stand out. Yes, that is exactly what I desperately want in my life — to not gratify the desires of my sinful nature. And the words, “they are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” Yes, that is exactly what I feel like, in conflict with myself and doing things that I don’t want to do.
So what’s the key? What’s the secret to not satisfying the desires of my sinful nature? It is to live by the Spirit. Just when I think I’ve found the secret, I come across an even greater, more daunting mystery. What does it mean to live by the Spirit?
What does it mean to live by the Spirit?
So I am not satisfied with the pat metaphysical answers to my personal crisis. I’ve not a clue what it means to live by the Spirit, or how to do it – only that I am exhorted to do so. So I search the Bible more and remember another place where there is some insight about living by the Spirit and come to Romans, chapter 8.
I read through the whole chapter but my heart leaps and back to “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
I sense that somewhere in this verse is the answer I am looking for, but requires deeper digging. I pray and ask God for help and then put what I remember of my high school education to work. I want to know how to live according to the Spirit, and this passage says that a characteristic of those who live according to the Spirit is that they have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. It is a characteristic of people who live by the Spirit, but I’m still not sure if that’s all there is to it. I think back to learning logic in high school algebra. I draw this table:
Then I remember the law of the contra-positive which concludes that “if P then Q” is true then “if not Q then not P” is true. So if the above statement is true then the following has to be true:
And right then and there is a major moment for me. I know that I am not setting my mind on what the Spirit desires. I did not realize how important that is. I cannot deny this reality - I am not now nor have I been living according to the Spirit. I let that sink in a little and dwell on this conviction.
As I deepen my study, I need two things to live by the Spirit: (i) I need to have my mind set on what the Spirit desires and (ii) I need to have the Holy Spirit living in me.
If the Spirit of God lives in us, then we are controlled by the Spirit
Romans 8:9
I know that when I believe in Jesus Chris as my Lord and Savior, I am declared righteous in God’s sight and receive the Holy Spirit inside me. For several years, I am saved and have the Holy Spirit, but I am not living by the Spirit because my mind is not set on what the Spirit desires. But the key to living an abundant and Spirit-filled life, is setting my mind on the Holy Spirit desires every day since then. When I think about all of the really great spiritual champions that I’ve encountered (those people who just exude Christ-likeness and spiritual living), one characteristic they all have in common is this: in some way or another, their minds are set on what the Spirit desires.
To live by the Spirit means:
To have the Holy Spirit Living inside me (Romans 8:9)
To have my mind set on what the Spirit desires (Romans 8:5)
It was a sweet time with the Lord. I continued to think more deeply about what the Spirit desires in specific situations and struggles I was going through. There are an endless amount of the Spirit’s desires that we can extract from the Bible that speak such healing and encouragement into our specific situations. For me, I guess the most amazing thing about this message is how convicting it was. It forced me to admit that I was not living by the Spirit. But also, it shows how simple and practical it is to get back to living by the Spirit. It was just a matter of setting my mind correctly. During this time, I didn’t sing any songs, I didn’t “do quiet times” I didn’t serve at my church or in a soup kitchen, and I didn’t preach a sermon to anyone except myself. But despite that I didn’t necessarily “do” anything, I was living by the Spirit because I was setting my mind on what he desires. It was just as easy as that. What I love most about it is the confidence and assurance that comes from this teaching. I can say with assurance that during that evening, I was living by the Spirit and not according to the sinful nature. And that’s exactly what I needed, because for the past couple weeks, months, or even years of feeling this spiritual dryness, it was a subconscious question “Am I living by the Spirit? Am I not living by the Spirit?” I didn’t have the faith and it made my days more difficult to live. I may not have realized that it was a question my heart was asking for all of this time, but I now know the answer and can declare it clearly and boldly.
Observation - Have you had your mind set on the what the Spirit desires?
Understanding - What is the importance of setting you mind on what the Spirit desires?
Application - What is one thing that the Spirit desires that you can set your mind on today?