Walking in the Spirit – a Practical Guideናሙና

Lesson #1 – You Have To Paddle!

If there is one defining characteristic of waves, it is that they are always moving. They never stop. Therefore, in order to catch a wave, you have to be moving too. Think of it like the baton exchange in a relay race. One runner is coming full speed down the track and his partner starts running before he reaches so that their speeds synchronize for the baton handover. Surfers paddle as hard as they can in the same direction as the wave so that they can synchronize with the wave’s speed. This is where they expend most of their effort. 

A common problem with walking in the Spirit is the question of effort. Does walking in the Spirit mean that we do nothing, and God does it all for us? Not at all. There is some effort in which we must engage in order to walk in the Spirit. Let’s examine a key verse in this passage - Galatians 5:16 (NKJV, emphasis mine):

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 

We must walk! If we do not walk in the Spirit, we will continue to fulfill the lust of the flesh. But if we do walk in the Spirit, we automatically do NOT fulfill the lust of the flesh. Our effort is not in battling the flesh but in walking in the Spirit. We expend our effort to synchronize with the Spirit (to catch the wave of the Spirit) and then we will be outside the reach of habitual sin. But how do we do that? First, we must cultivate a habit of spending personal private time with God. Here is a good place to start: Set and commit to a specific time daily to meet with God, alone. First thing in the morning is preferable, but any time where your mind will be fresh and your time undisturbed is fine. Make this time sacred and consistent. Spending consistent, quality time with God is where we need to expend most of our effort if we are to walk in the Spirit.

Points to pray/journal

· Do I have a habit of meeting with God daily? If not, why? What’s preventing me?

· If I were to assess what I spend my time doing, what percentage would be allocated to one-on-one time with God?

Declarations

· I am a beloved child of God and through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I have been forgiven! Therefore, I approach God boldly with full assurance of loving acceptance and tender mercy!

· I was designed for communion with God! Spending time with Him daily is natural and joyful for me!