Keep in step with the Spirit

Prayer Practice

Breath Prayer – Take 2-3 minutes today to pray a simple breath prayer. Get somewhere quiet and relaxing. Breathe in deeply, and then breathe out fully. As you breathe in, ask God to fill you with His presence, grace, love, peace, etc. Consider using the list of spiritual fruit in Galatians 5:22-23. As you breathe out, offer to God the things you need Him to take from you – sin, doubt, shame, anxiety, fear, etc. Pray this way for just a few minutes, trusting God to work, and then begin reading today’s Scripture.

DAILY READING

Galatians 5:19-26

REFLECTION

Look to Jesus

 by Kelsey Bacon

What does it mean to keep in step with the Spirit? Since the Spirit is not a physical being who walks alongside us as we go throughout our day, how can we match our steps to his? How can we walk in the direction he guides us toward? How can we stay in sync with what God wants?

Sometimes these questions can seem daunting. Our daily missteps that come with living life as a sinful human make it difficult to stay in perfect step with a perfect God. I wake up in the morning and God isn't the first thing on my mind. I say a biting word to my husband or ignore a text I know I should respond to from a friend or family member. I waste time, I fill my mind with things of this world, I look for my value in people rather than in God. And then I lay in bed at night and ask God why I feel out of step with him.

It isn't always this way. Sometimes we feel more instep, and other times we feel like we're on a completely different road. But I think the important thing to point out that I've realized recently is that so much of our basis for our closeness with God is around how we feel. No matter how much we try and do the right things, we are always going to break the law and we are always going to fall out of step. And that doesn't feel good.

But the Spirit isn't dependent on our feelings. Or even on our actions. The Spirit is with us whether we're in step with him, struggling to keep up, or lost in a field somewhere. When Paul tells us to stay in step with the Spirit, it's not a command for us to seek perfection, but a reminder that we belong to Christ and because of that we aren't slaves to the ways of the world. We don't have to look around us at the world to try and figure out where to go, what to do, or who to be. We have Jesus for that. And when we look to Jesus for everything, when we live our lives seeking him above all else, the fruit that comes from that life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

So how do we keep in step, stay in sync with what God wants even though we know we can't? The answer is Jesus. We can't do it on our own, but we can with Jesus. He's the one who comes along and focuses our eyes back on him, sets right our hearts, reminds us of who we truly are. Be reminded today, friends, that you are not on this path alone. Christ is beside you, lifting you up when you fall, pulling you back when you stray, and turning your face always back to his.