TUESDAY – FEBRUARY 2, 2021
The Christian Tug of War
Main Text: Galatians 5:16 – So I say, live by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of sinful nature.
Galatians 5:1 – For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.
Every day we are being pulled in two opposite directions. Our sinful nature (our flesh) pulls us to one direction, while the Holy Spirit pulls us in the other direction. This is called the “Christian tug of war”. As a result of this war our wishes are never free from their pressures.
This explains why sometimes our spiritual growth is so slow. It explains why sometimes we find ourselves falling back into the same sin we vowed never to fall into again. It explains why sometimes there seems so little change in our lives. Sometimes it seems hopeless. Our sinful nature is there ready to trip us. Is there a way out? Is it a toss-up as to who will win?
In Galatians 5, Paul talking to the Galatian believers assures them and us that the outcome is no toss-up. He advises that what we have to do is to learn to live by the spirit. He urges “live by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature”. What we need to do is to let ourselves be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERYDAY IS THE PRAYER FOR THE CONTROL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OVER OUR ACTIVITIES.
Prayer: Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me today, melt me, remould me, fill me and use me to the Glory of God Almighty.