What in the world does the Bible mean to walk in the Spirit? When you read Galatians 5:16 it sounds so easy, but we know better. Being Spirit led can be difficult because it takes a willful denial of the flesh and your own ambitions.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:16–17, ESV)
Walking in the Spirit should not be overcomplicated or mystical. It is not reserved for a few “super-godly” people. Walking in the Spirit should be as natural to the believer as breathing in and out. So, what are the biblical steps to walking in the Spirit.
1. Your posture toward God: Humble yourself before the Lord.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:10, ESV)
2. Your presentation to God: Present yourself to the Lord.
“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” (Romans 6:13, ESV)
3. Your persistence to God: Obey the word of the Lord.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22–25, ESV)
You too can walk in the Spirit and follow his lead. “The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” As you learn to humble the flesh, the Spirit will naturally take over.
Bill Sizemore 