Wednesday, September 20, 2023

What’s your idea of a fun, fruitful life? What are the desires of your heart? 

I enjoy playing board games until midnight, family karaoke, relaxing with family and friends, watching sports, beer or wine tasting, and kidnapping the cornhole trophy from a small group I’m in. I wish and hope for my family to be healthy, for all of us to live in our purpose, to be a better husband and father, and for my legacy to become that of a kingdom man.

Now to some, this life may not look very grown up. Some might even call it boring.

Galatians 5:16-17
¹⁶ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then, you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

We may be left wondering about what Paul means by “sinful nature,” so he goes on to clarify how it can manifest in our lives.

Galatians 5:19-21
¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.

Now, from the perspective of the world, some of these behaviors might be mistaken for maturity. The idea of going from making basketball shots with neighborhood friends to doing shots of liquor and pursuing other lustful pleasures such as outbursts of anger or selfish ambition may leave us thinking we’ve arrived in adulthood. But in fact, they often create more problems and leave us feeling hollow. Jesus offers us a life that is rich and satisfying, but it often looks quite different from the world.

For me, adopting a “grown-up” approach to life is less about my age and more about walking to recapture “the hand I felt lead the way” during my childhood. It’s about going back to my first love of God. I need to trust him and his Spirit because it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that I can experience a fruitful life. 

It’s easy to think that being saved means the Holy Spirit always lights our path or pretend we’re living righteously on social media. But the reality is the authentic Christian life is sometimes messy and difficult. The reminder to trust God is one we keep returning to because, even though indulging our sinful nature may not be something our heart desires anymore, our flesh is weak, and the struggle is real. 

Our default response is to slip into old tendencies and operate from our own strength, moving away from a fruitful life. To combat this, we need to trust in God and let the Holy Spirit be our guide for lasting change instead of choosing a fleeting feeling. 

“We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord.” He doesn’t mind if we lean a little more.  

Questions: 
Do you try to battle your flesh alone? Have you ever experienced true success chasing your own desires?

Next Steps: 
Let the Holy Spirit guide you by spending time in prayer, learning scripture, and filling your week with spiritual choices like joining a Group, praising God, and/or attending a weekend service.

Prayer: 
Lord, I pray that my legacy shows that I was a child of God, choosing to live like the Father. I often fail at this because of my stubbornness and pride, so continue to humble me. It reminds me that I am not and have never been alone, which I never want to forget. Guide me to learn better ways to lead others to you. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:
John 14:26
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

This post was written by Jaron Camp, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.