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Sunday, November 15, 2009
In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley
The Spirit and Our Walk
Galatians 5:16-26
Have you ever felt like quitting the Christian life? Perhaps you have tried to be the kind of person God wants you to be. You've established a consistent quiet time with the Lord, reading the Bible and praying. But still you seem to have one struggle after another. So you think that you might be missing something—or that maybe this life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Let this be a comfort: many believers, myself included, have toiled through a period of defeat.
The key to living a life of joy, peace, and victory is found in Galatians 5. Notice that I did not say a life without conflict or one free of temptation, trial, or heartache. Those are part of the human condition. But we can triumph through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In fact, today's passage makes clear how vital it is for believers to live a Spirit-filled life. When a person trusts Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she is saved and steps from darkness into light. But believers do not then just stand around. As followers of Christ, we fall in step with the Holy Spirit, who teaches us to stay on our feet when we are wobbly, to move uphill without tiring, and to stand again after we have fallen. We rely upon Him as our strength, guide, and comforter.
Does getting through a defeat feel more like crawling than walking? Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is right with you, and He has all the encouragement and power necessary to get you on your feet again. The Christian life can't be lived alone—rely upon God's Spirit to escort you each step of the way.
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