Who Takes The Lead? - November 17

Read Galatians 5:16-21

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Reflect

In your daily life, what usually guides your decision-making process? Do you rely on the Spirit’s leading or do you make decisions based on the desires of your flesh?

I am not a ballroom dancing expert. But one thing I do know is that when a couple is dancing, the man is supposed to take the lead and the woman is supposed to follow. When the couple sticks to their distinct roles, the dance is beautiful and the two seem to move effortlessly as one unit. But one thing is for sure, the dance is an epic fail if both partners are trying to lead at the same time.

Similarly, we are either led by our flesh or by the Holy Spirit. Our flesh leads us in one direction and the Spirit leads us in the other direction because the Spirit and the flesh are diametrically opposed to each other. Since we can’t walk in two different directions at the same time, we can’t follow both the Spirit and our flesh. It has to be one or the other.

In today’s passage, Paul urged the Galatians to be led by the Spirit rather than by our fallen flesh. But we are born sinners so all of the wicked deeds that Paul listed come quite naturally to us. That’s why we need to be born again of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said so Himself in John 3:3: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

If we have placed our faith in Christ, we are born again and we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Christ redeemed us and made us right with God (justification). Now, the Holy Spirit is at work in us, daily making us more and more like Christ (sanctification). Because we are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have the Holy Spirit, we should be living changed lives that are led by the Spirit, not our sinful flesh.

Now, people who habitually practice deeds of the flesh demonstrate that they are not truly born again in the Spirit. They are not regenerated. They haven’t become a new creation in Christ. Tragically, because they haven’t been born again and do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, they will not see the kingdom of God.

The problem for Christians is, even though we have been born again and made new, we face a daily (sometimes even moment to moment) struggle with our flesh. The temptation is always there to return to our old ways. Our fleshly desires are always trying to keep us from following the lead of the Holy Spirit. In the dancing analogy, the Holy Spirit is the male partner and we are the female. It is our job to follow His lead and when we do, life is a beautiful dance! But often, in our fleshly pride, we want to be the leader which just creates a mess.

Paul expressed his frustration with his flesh in Romans. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:15,18-25, NIV).

You see, sometimes, being led by the Spirit is a struggle. We have a daily choice to make—are we going to fall back into our old, sinful, and destructive ways? Or are we going to take off our old selves and put on our new selves (Ephesians 4:22-24)—the new selves who have been reborn and empowered by the Holy Spirit? When we make a thousand little decisions each and every day, are we going to follow the lead of our flesh or the lead of the Spirit?

Respond

Lord, I want to be holy as You are holy. I want to live a Spirit-led life. But I confess that I continue to battle my sinful flesh every day. Still, I praise You for delivering me and I ask You to help me follow the lead of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Reveal

Think of someone you know who seems to be wrestling with a big decision right now—maybe about work, relationships, or purpose. Reach out and offer to grab coffee or take a walk together. Instead of giving advice right away, simply listen. Then gently share how you’ve learned to pause and invite God’s Spirit to guide you when choices feel unclear. You don’t have to quote Scripture—just be honest about how relying on something greater than yourself has changed the way you move through life. That quiet testimony, shared in care rather than correction, might help them begin to see what a Spirit-led life looks like in real time.