For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:17,18
We hear this all the time. It comes to us in commercials. Messages and videos posted on the internet. There’s a constant barrage of words and ideas that are stoning all day long.
You’ve got this. You can do it. Try harder. Keep trying. Keep it up. Don’t stop now. You’re almost there. Dig deep. Or, in the words of my area of the world, “Get er done!”
Think back to when the pandemic first hit. Didn’t you heat this over and over in commercials? We can do this. We can get through this. We can make it. All we have to do is not give up.
And in some parts of life, this might be true. We do have to stay faithful when it comes to doing some things. We have to keep doing it over and over again until it becomes part of us.
But this isn’t true at all when it comes to living the life that God wants for us. It’s a lie to think that if we just keep on trying that we’ll become something we’re not. Someone we’re not.
I like to watch sports on TV. Golf and football are my favorites. I know how to hit a golf ball and I know how to play football. But there is absolutely no way that I’m ever going to become a professional. I could go out every day, hitting golf balls and playing football till I fell over from exhaustion. But I’m never, ever going to get better to the point that I can compete.
Just so you know, I get how unpopular of an idea this is. I was brought up with all my teachers telling me, “You can do anything. All you have to do is put your mind to it and you can accomplish anything. Become anything.”
But let’s face facts for a second. I wanted to be a lineman in the NFL, but there was no way that I had the size or skills to be one. They were six-foot, eight inches, weighing over 300 pounds while I was five-eleven and 155 pounds.
I was never going to be able to make an NFL team. And I was never going to be able to stop sinning on my own. I knew what I needed to do. I knew what had to be done. But there was no way that I was going to be able to do it.
When it comes to living the way God made us to live, it’s the same way. Inside we’ve got that little voice that lets us know. We’ve seen enough, we know enough about God just by looking at the world and living in it. The bottom-line is that he’s shown us enough and we decided to ignore him, turning away from him. The end result is that we’re without any excuse[1].
The Galatians had come to Christ and God’s Holy Spirit was living in them. Directing them. Guiding them. Giving them power. He was actively empowering them to live with and for God.
All the information was right there for them to follow. All God’s resurrection power was in them to defeat the enemy within. Everything that they possibly would need was there for the asking.
But they had the choice, and it was a really simple one at that.
Choose God. Decide that they were going to live for their creator God, the one that loved them so much that he dies for them on the cross. Or,
Choose another. Decide to follow someone else. Anyone else. After looking at all of life, and all the possible options in front of them, they chose against God and for another.
I hate to be so black and white, but sometimes in life, it’s that simple. We choose for God or against him. We choose to follow the one who loves us, that wants us to flourish in all of life, or we turn against him.
And when we choose another, it’s not even close. It’s not like there is someone or something that will give us a life that’s not all that different from the one that God’s offering.
We must consistently and constantly be choosing for him. We need to be developing the habit of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, trusting in his Holy Spirit.
The more we say “No:” to sin, the easier it becomes to say “Yes” to Jesus. It takes his power, but it also needs to be our choice. We need to be looking to him all the time. In every part of life. In every situation.
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13 NLT
When we’re trying to live on our own, we’re going about it the wrong way. We’re unplugging ourselves from him and his power while throwing the monkey-wrench of self-dependence into our lives.
The only way to truly live is not when we’ve got this, but when God’s got this.
[1] Romans 1:20
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