Practicing His Ways - February 10

Read Galatians 5:16, 25

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh…If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Reflect

Think about good and bad habits in your life. How did you develop them? How do you change them?

My kids have been educated about proper dental hygiene. They know that in order to have healthy teeth and avoid cavities, they have to brush their teeth after breakfast and before bed every single day. And yet twice a day, I have to remind them and sometimes force them to brush their teeth. They know that brushing their teeth is the right thing to do and they have been given everything they need to accomplish this task. I have provided them with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and even those little floss picks. All they have to do is actually brush their teeth. It makes me shake my head but I realize that they haven’t fully developed this healthy habit yet. They need more practice for it to truly become a way of life.

In a way, that is what the fruit of the Spirit is like. When we place our faith in Christ, not only are we saved, but we receive the Holy Spirit. God’s Word instructs us and the Holy Spirit empowers us so we know the right things to do and we have the spiritual power to carry them out.

And yet, it can still be a struggle. It is really easy to fall back into our deeply ingrained bad habits before Christ. We know that the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). But these character traits are often not our first impulse. We need more practice in order for His ways to become our regular way of life.

In today’s verses, the apostle Paul urged the Galatian believers to walk by the Spirit and walk in step with the Holy Spirit. Believers cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit on their own—only the Spirit can plant it in our lives. But we can cultivate it and help it grow by obediently submitting to the Holy Spirit every single day.

John MacArthur commented on Galatians 5:16. He wrote, “All believers have the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit as the personal power for living to please God. The form of the Greek verb translated ‘walk’ indicates continuous action, or a habitual lifestyle. Walking also implies progress; as a believer submits to the Spirit’s control, that is responds in obedience to the simple commands of Scripture—he grows in his spiritual life” (The MacArthur Study Bible).

My kids have sufficient knowledge about dental hygiene and they have been given all of the tools that they need to have healthy teeth. Now, they need to yield to my authority and do what I have told them to do. They need to brush their teeth. It doesn’t matter how much my kids know about dental hygiene if they never actually put into practice the things that they’ve learned. But, if they continually choose obedience and practice brushing their teeth twice a day, proper dental hygiene will become a part of their lives instead of just an annoying chore.

Likewise, if we regularly put what we’ve learned from God’s Word into practice and obediently submit to the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will grow and develop in our lives. We have been given the grace and the strength to overcome our old sinful habits and patterns of behavior. In Christ, we have been given everything we need to accomplish what He is calling us to do. Now, we must obediently and faithfully walk in step with the Holy Spirit. When we do, He will change our patterns of behavior and His ways will eventually become our way of life.

Respond

Lord, thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit. You have given me everything I need to grow spiritually and become more and more like You. Help me to submit to You in obedience so that Your ways become my ways. I want to walk in step with You all my life. Amen.

Reveal

Has the Lord helped you overcome an old, sinful habit? Pray about who needs to hear your transformation story and then share it with them. Testimonies of victories in Jesus are inspiring and encouraging.