Galatians 5:16
So I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
How can you tell the Holy Spirit is leading you rather than your own subjective feelings?
Being led by the Holy Spirit creates the desire to hear and readiness to obey God's word. The Holy Spirit gives us the sensitivity to discern between our own feelings and his prompting.
When you are obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will never let you down wherever He leads you. It may be something quite small, just be obedient in that small thing. As you go on with God, the more obedient you are, the more He will ask of you. Listen to the Holy Spirit and let yourself be led by God.
Don’t expect that God will make you great if you are obedient, but that He will use you the most when you remain small. Don’t be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit to gain more but to give more. Your obedience not only matters for your life, but also for the lives of everyone around you. Even if you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for them, and your life will be a blessing for the kingdom.
Galatians 5:16–26 focuses on how God's Spirit gives those in Christ the power to serve others in love. We must allow the Holy Spirit to lead, however. When we don't, our selfishness will lead us into all kinds of sinful lifestyles. When we live by the Spirit, on the other hand, we gain more than just being able not to live in sin. What comes out of us are a collection of powerful, positive characteristics.
Paul points to the only source of power and wisdom beyond ourselves: the Holy Spirit of God. He revealed earlier in this letter that the Spirit comes to live in the hearts of every one of God's sons and daughters (Galatians 4:6). Now Paul tells us to use this freedom in Christ to access the power of God's Spirit in our hearts in our everyday lives. He tells us, literally, to walk, and keep on walking, by the Spirit's power and guidance.
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