Walking in the Spirit is Not Easy

When your heart is in the right place and your actions driven by Godly (love) motivations, we face challenges to learn something which is why you can count it all joy because the father is teaching, and we are deemed worthy of his teaching and discipline. 

James 1 tells us to Count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds, for we know that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Trials are God's way of refining us into what he needs us to be to complete his plan for our lives.  This is also called sanctification: The Greek word translated "sanctification" means "holiness." To sanctify, therefore, means "to make holy."  

Trials are there to help refine our ability to make the right choice at the right time.  Building a "muscle-memory."  This is only possible when we actively walk in the Spirit.  Some of us just need to learn this more than others and end up in the same theme of trial repeatedly until we learn what we need to learn.  Galatians 5 tells us to Walk in the Spirit as we live in the Spirit. Or, more importantly, we learn that we, in our human state, must walk in the Spirit as the flesh struggles with living like Jesus and displaying the fruits-of-the-Spirit.  

Trials are used to equip us to the Father's work here on earth and to show love to everyone we encounter.  

Trials come from the father; temptations come from the enemy.  Knowing what you are in is critical and sometimes maybe not so obvious.

When your heart and therefore your motivation is off center, then the choice before you is most likely temptation and not by the spirit which leads to discipline.

In John, Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise."

If we live in and accept direction from the Spirit than we are doing what the Father would do. 

As we mature in our faith our life's question shifts from why towards what.  The Bible states that all things work for His good, according to His plan for those of us that live Him that would mean as believer all things that come to the believer are filtered through the father and have a purpose, a good purpose.  We may not see the good in the present but by Faith and knowing we are Children of God in the Body of Christ, it is for His good and hence good for us.

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