“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”
—Galatians 5:16–17

The apostle Paul says if we set our minds on the Spirit, we won’t carry out the desires of the flesh. Yet it is incredible how many Christians willingly give themselves over to the things of the flesh. I want to remind you today that you have a choice in what you reap in life. God never told us that we can control what we feel, but He did tell us that we can control what we choose.

Too many Christians are being led by what they feel, but God never said, “Whosoever feels…”; God said, “Whosoever will…” (Rev. 22:17, kjv). Living by the Spirit involves actively choosing to follow Christ, not moving by our feelings. So I want to encourage you to not live by your emotions, to not live by your lust. You can’t expect to sow to the flesh and reap blessings from the Spirit of God. Galatians 6:8 says that “the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

If you sow to the Spirit, you are going to reap love, joy, and peace, but sowing to the Spirit involves disciplining the will. Jesus paid a great price when He sacrificed Himself on the cross. He took nails in His hands, a spear in His side, and more nails in His feet. Living a godly life takes sacrifice too. It even hurts. Our flesh will want to avoid pain and discomfort at all costs, but we must discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness.

You have a choice to make: whether to live by the flesh or by the Spirit. I encourage you to follow what is right, not what you feel. Feelings come and go, and they will deceive us. But the Spirit of God will lead us to experience blessing and eternal life. Don’t grow weary in doing good. If you are faithful until the end, you shall reap a great reward!

Father God, help me to discipline myself to sow to the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Help me choose to follow Your Spirit so that I may reap love, joy, peace, and eternal life.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Revelation (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2020), Used by permission.