“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 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. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
Galatians 5:16-21 NLT
Many believe that living by the Spirit is living by feeling. Here Paul dispels that idea by pointing out that the urges and desires that we carry, our feelings about and towards things, produce the very things we try to avoid. This is the opposite extreme to the law lovers who wish to live by effort alone. These problems produce the same outcome from opposite directions. Where they meet is that what is earned by them is death. Neither feelings nor works produce a satisfying wage. Only tue guidance and submission to the will of the Holy Spirit is strong enough to navigate life properly. People must learn to quiet themselves and listen for him. This can be especially difficult in a world that expects our own voice to be the loudest in a sea of external stimulation. God doesn’t operate that way. He generally speaks softly and with nuance, waiting for people to stop listening to other things for them to really hear him. If we want to live well, we have to learn to listen well. Be still.
JOSH McGARY. COM 