How To Walk In the Spirit and Not the Flesh
Learning how to walk in the spirit and not the flesh reminds me of a sarcophagus. On many of these coffins, the exterior shell has a carved image of the deceased person. The real person is inside.
Until a Christian walks in the spirit, everyone sees your old self. That’s because you lock away your spirit (dare I say in a sarcophagus) when you don’t subdue your flesh.
The flesh and spirit are significantly different. Your body drops to the floor upon death but your spirit lives on.
2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 4-7
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan and long for our heavenly dwelling. While we are in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who prepares us for this very thing is God, who gives us the Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Controlling this earthly tent is a constant battle! I’m miserable when I let my flesh control everything ALL DAY LONG. For example, hunger leads me to the kitchen. On the way there, I peek in the mirror to see what my face needs. Then, my flesh convinces me a day off from God is a good idea. Before I know it, God isn’t important. Instead, I’m knee-deep in emails, social media accounts or to-do lists.
Our flesh demands attention and wants instant gratification. It loves independence, power, and pleasures offered by the world. In contrast, the Spirit of God who lives inside waits for us to respond to Him. So, what do you do? How do you make a habit of living and walking in the holy spirit?
10 Ways on How To Walk In the Spirit
- Decide what hinders you. What’s your biggest fleshly battle? Sin entangles a person quickly (see Hebrews 12:1-2); therefore, know your hindrances and look to Jesus for help. Is it sexual impurity, anger, profanity, hatred, alcohol, or something else? Be aware of what your flesh likes—that’s what keeps you from walking in the spirit.
- Reap life. Devote your time to what everyone else does in the world and reap death. You sow to the spirit every time you read scripture, meditate, or pray. By doing so, God gets larger inside you and what the world does no longer matters.
- Obey God quickly. Like anything else, it takes practice to do what God says. Deciding to train your flesh or your spirit takes considerable time, either way.
- Be selective. The wrong friends, TV shows, and activities pull you away from God. Your spirit knows when that happens. You have a feeling that God isn’t pleased and He has a better plan.
- Pray in the Spirit. The strongest desire usually wins out. If a besetting sin tries to overcome you, pray in God’s heavenly language to resist. You may even sense the Holy Spirit cleansing your heart while filling you with new desires.
- Listen for the Holy Spirit. He may prompt you to stop smoking or abandon entertainment shows that feed your flesh. Remember, the benefits of walking in the spirit outweigh the temporary inconvenience of changing a mindset or lifestyle. Everything God tells you is important especially when you don’t want to hear what He says. People tune out God throughout the day and then wonder why they can’t hear Him in a crisis. He knows things you can never come up with on your own.
- Decide daily to walk in the Spirit. You choose whether you walk in the spirit or not. Christians don’t stumble upon God. They make up their minds that He’s the only priority worth chasing.
- See yourself dead to sin. How you see yourself in Christ becomes your reality. You can be led by the spirit because you are a son or daughter of God. Romans 8:12-14 – So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
- Allow fruit to grow. As you walk in the spirit, spiritual fruit starts to develop. You become more patient, loving, peaceful, or kind. This doesn’t happen overnight but the more you walk in the spirit spiritual changes become evident to you and others.
- Thank God often. Without God at the helm, a Christian does nothing in the spirit. Every time you allow the Holy Spirit to work through you be thankful because you’re making progress.
More Ideas About How To Walk In the Spirit
Supernatural living occurs every day when Christians walk in the spirit. That’s because you don’t follow your natural inclinations when living your life. You follow God. Your flesh isn’t your governing authority that routinely opposes God.
Nope. God’s laws are written on your heart, not on tablets of stone like the Ten Commandments. When you allow Him, the Holy Spirit works inside you to keep your heart pliable (soft) and teachable. Christians with hardened hearts allow their flesh to rule non-stop. They’re unable to hear God thereby exalting themselves.
If you aren’t walking in the power of the holy spirit and seeing results, review this scripture to find out why.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
I’ve found that choosing between the flesh and the spirit is the difference between bondage and freedom. My spirit can soar or stagnate. It’s up to me whether my Christian life is full of self or the things of the Spirit.