Flip the Switch

Well, my stars are doin’ some big ol’ cartwheels today, friend! Hurry up and pull up a comfy rocker and settle yourself right here on this here front porch because what we’re about to go diggin’ real deep into is richer than cream gravy on warm, buttery mashed potatoes. I was watchin’ a squirrel earlier this mornin’ as he was tryin’ to bury a pecan in soil so hard it might as well have been concrete. He scratched, pushed, grunted, and fussed like he was auditionin’ for a woodland weightlifting competition. And right then it came to my heart like someone was  knockin’ on a screen door sayin’, “Friend, that right there is just what you do when you’re tryin’ to do spiritual things in your own strength.” That there real truth hit me faster than steppin’ on a cold bathroom tile at 3 o’clock in the morning on a freezin’ wintery night.

Walkin’ in the Spirit just ain’t about tryin’ harder. It’s about lettin’ the Holy Spirit guide you through the Word He inspired. The Spirit and the Word agree like two old farmhands who have plowed the same field and worked together on the same farm for many years.

Some folks git to thinkin’ if they can just whip their flesh into shape, then the Spirit will show up like a blue ribbon won at the county fair. But that’s plum backwards. Jesus warned us in Matthew 26:41 that “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He didn’t say strengthen the flesh. He said watch and pray. In other words, stay close to the Spirit, and the Spirit will handle the rest.

It’s plum like tryin’ to brighten a dark room. You don’t shovel out the darkness. You flip on the lights. Religion says, “Stop sinnin’, and maybe God will help you.” The Spirit says, “Let Me help you, and watch sin lose its grip.” You can no more conquer the flesh on your own than a ol’ goat can learn to dance in the ballet. But when the Spirit leads, the flesh starts quietin’ down like an ol’ rooster that finally realizes the scarecrow standin’ out in the corn field just ain’t worth fightin’.

The key is faith. Faith that invites the Spirit to work even while the flesh is still fussin’. Faith that says, “Lord, I cannot, but You can.”

Father, teach me to walk in Your Spirit before I try to conquer anything in my flesh. Help me trust Your power more than my effort. Lead me, fill me, and strengthen me so I can live in the freedom You designed. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Now, glory be and pass those steamin’, buttered grits right on over here, friend. Before you to slippin’ on off this porch and gittin’ on back into your workday, let this here real truth land right on your heart the way a soft rain settles into thirsty ground. When you walk in the Spirit, you are not trudgin’ through life hopin’ to impress God. You’re movin’ with the quiet confidence of a deer steppin’ through morning mist, guided by something greater than yourself. Temptation may still holler real loud, but it loses its bite the way a summer creek loses its roar due to dwindlin’ waters in August. And the flesh, bless its stubborn hide, starts shrinkin’ back like a lil’ ol’ raccoon caught tryin’ to sneak off with the chicken feed. So, step forward with boldness, real steady and sure, because the Spirit who walks right along with you is so much stronger than anything that walks against you.

With joy,

Gwen