Thursday, March 13th, 2025
Every human ever created is given the gift of free will. The part that sometimes takes painful experiences to recognize is that every time we exercise our free will it either leads to freedom or bondage, life or death. The world tells us that we are free to be who we want to be and that we will find fulfillment in whatever makes us happy. The truth is that true freedom and joy were made to be discovered in the unique path that God has for us. Being obedient to Him and submitting to His will releases us into a freedom that nothing in this world can offer. It sounds like we are a slave to Him, but being a slave to Him comes with a gift of the fruits of the spirit (Galations 5:22-23), blessings unimaginable and the fire of faith that cannot be quenched. Being bound to Him puts us under the shadow of His wings and builds a hedge around us that the enemy cannot penetrate.
God doesn’t force us to think about what is pure and lovely (Philippians 4:8), it’s a choice we must make. God doesn’t open our mouths for us and fill them with only blessings, He lets us string together letters onto our own canvas of life. What would life be like if every thought we had, every word we spoke and every action we performed was forced on us by someone else? Life would become a boring puppet show empty of the joys of chasing after our Heavenly Father, the refreshing whisper of Holy Spirit wisdom deep into our desperate vessel and the repentant heart ready to get back to storing up treasures in heaven. God lets us decide how we will live our life, but the reality is that one way leads to life and the other leads to death.
Romans 6:16 says:
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
We are free to choose our path. When we use our free will and choose a fleshly path of self-indulgence, pride and living by our feelings and emotions we actually become bound to these things. We base our choices on how we feel and what sort of emotions our choices will produce. Our flesh becomes demanding and throws childish temper-tantrums if it is not fulfilled. Romans 8 is full of references to how the flesh is hostile to God and if left to rule the roost will lead to death. That’s why we are told to crucify our flesh so that we may live. We have to choose to put our spirit back on the throne above our flesh and keep them in their designed order.
Final Thoughts…
The way of the flesh will never lead to life. Sometimes I think we put all of our energy into trying to control our flesh. But in my personal experience, when I give it this kind of energy it still rules the roost. The path to victory is more about putting our spirit first and setting our mind on the things of the Spirit. When we do this our flesh has to bow. Every time we choose our spirit over our flesh our flesh loses its voice and its power. It doesn’t take long before we realize that the best fruit of the flesh is significantly inferior to any of the spiritual fruits.