Galatians 5:16 NKJV
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
I had an interesting thing happen to me yesterday that I did not plan to share with anyone except a few people close to me. However, after talking with one of them I realized that there was a message in it that made Galatians 5:16 come alive to me more and may help someone else. This morning I felt a release to share a specific part of my experience. I was meditating in the presence of the Lord and as He ministered to me my right hand went up spontaneously in response. If we worship the Lord from our hearts, we know what it is like to just have our hands go up - without premeditating it - as we respond to His love and goodness. This time however, I felt like something was holding my hand up. I left my hand alone and did not try to take it down until I had to move. Normally, our arms get heavier as seconds go by and after about 30 seconds, we begin to feel like giving it a rest. How soon we have to take it down depends on how much we are in the spirit. This time, I did not feel the weight of my arm and had no desire to take it down. Actually, I felt like I would have to forcefully pull it down. I wish I had been able to time how long it stayed up but I believe it was at least a few minutes before I was disturbed and had to move. Also, I was listening for a car to pull up because I was going to open the door for the person arriving. I was amazed when I heard them at the door because I did not hear the car, the car door close, or any sounds before they got to the door. My street is very quiet and I can usually hear a car going past my house very easily. I would definitely hear someone pulling up in the driveway and the sound of a car door closing. I heard nothing. This incident illustrates Galatians 5:16 because the verse commands us walk in the spirit in order to avoid fulfilling the lust of the flesh. We do not need to try to avoid fulfilling the desires of the flesh in the flesh. When we get in the spirit we will automatically operate above the flesh. Our feelings will not dominate us. I could not feel the weight of my arm. I could not hear the sounds I normally heard. Therefore I could not react like I normally would. When we get in the flesh we respond to our feelings. When the spirit dominates, we do not have those feelings so we have no difficulty not following the flesh. Prayer in the spirit, meditating the Word, resting in God’s presence, worshiping Him are things that take us from the flesh realm to the Spirit realm. Instead of trying to overcome the flesh, if we just try to spend more time in the Spirit realm, we will have less and less struggle with our flesh. Selah