[This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. -- Galatians 5:17-23, KJV
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. -- Galatians 6:7-9, KJV
So many times I have heard Galatians 6:9 quoted in reference to not giving in at running about doing various ministry tasks. However, as I was reading Paul's letter to the Galatians, I noticed an underlying theme that has very little to do with persevering in works and a whole lot to do with persevering in sanctification.
Here we see Paul talking about the self-evidence of our dual nature, which is to say the co-existence of both the "flesh" and the "spirit" within one being. When the scriptures talk about the flesh, they are generally referring to the "old man", or rather, that which we were before we were reborn into the spirit. As spiritual creatures in physical bodies, how often have we felt that what we want and what we need are at war with each other, such that we can't do the things we really desire to do with our hearts?
First, we recognize within ourselves the manifestation of the flesh, and all the works thereof. As hard as we try, we cannot seem to gain victory over these behaviors that our bodies are so attached to. For OCD, or any mental illness, the hold our physical bodies have on our mind is so strong that we cannot help deny the power of the flesh on our spiritual situation.
We then see the fruits of the Spirit of God that we so desperately desire to have: love, joy, peace, patience, not being easily angered, righteousness, faith, humility, and self-control. Who wouldn't want these things? Why, even unbelievers desire most of these qualities for themselves. For those with anxiety disorders, peace is high on the list of desirable things. However, we must be quick to realize that as it is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit working within us, nothing we do will be able to muster up anything resembling true peace.
How, then, are we to live? We can't simply just throw our hands up in the air and wait for God to pour out his peace on us; if that were true, surely we would have received it. Recognizing our own helplessness isn't even enough. What then, are we to do?
Just a short paragraph later, Paul compares the situation to a farmer sowing seed. Just as Jesus compared the states of our hearts when we receive the word of God to sown seed, so Paul here compares the manifestation of spirits to fruits, and the preparation thereunto as the sowing of seed. He tells us plainly that we shouldn't be sowing dandelions and expect to harvest tomatoes from it. Whatever we put into our hearts is what we are going to grow there.
We have no power whatsoever to produce fruit -- faith, for example, is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), just as we have no power to make a tomato seed sprout and grow into a healthy plant that also bears a useful fruit. However, we do have control over the environment into which the seed is sown, and for that matter, we have at least some measure of control over what types of seed we plant. Yes, it is true, we often have things growing in us that were planted there by other people; those have to be weeded out, which is a discussion for another time. However, for the most part, we pick and choose for ourselves what to plant and nurture in our lives.
If the word of God is planted in our hearts, but we do not choose to water it, it will not grow. If we feed our souls on muck and filth, the Spirit will not thrive within us. We simply cannot reap anything wholesome whatever from a garden that has been poisoned! The fruit is useless at best, poisonous at worst, and is altogether unfit.
However, by again and again denying the flesh to have any access to our hearts, and particularly by feeding the tender growth with the Word of God, we can indeed expect to harvest the fruits of the Spirit. It is a promise! That means that the love of God, which is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit filling us, can be ours. The joy of the Lord, the peace that passes all understanding, patience with irritating people -- all those things can be ours. The catch is, we must discipline ourselves to feed the Spirit and deny our flesh.
These past few days have been very trying for me. I struggle with consistency in any discipline, having neither example nor practice in it. Resisting the temptation to do evil, that is one thing; however, insisting that I do things which I know are good is much more difficult to maintain. I have been feeling a bit of hopelessness toward my OCD and my panic, in that I have been despairing of ever being free. But I felt as though the Word of God had a fresh draught of hope for me today: Don't give up! When the time is right, when the season is over, you WILL reap the fruit of the Spirit, if you don't give up on the work in the garden.
So, those of you fighting in your own spiritual battles, don't lose hope. Even though the days ahead look long and dreadful, and it seems as though the promises of God will never be fulfilled in you, keep on walking ahead in the faith that He IS faithful to reward those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6), and continue to starve the flesh into submission by feeding the Spirit.
The only way we are going to get the peace that is promised us is by first acknowledging that it is a gift that only the Lord can give, and then positioning ourselves in obedience in a position where we are able to receive that gift. We are never justified by obedience, but obedience places us in a posture underneath the outpouring of God's tender mercies and grace.
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