Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

These two scriptures really should be our daily guide for our lives, but do we really seek to walk in His fruit? It is self check time. We must ask ourselves if we walk more in the Spirit or more in our flesh?

Practical Tips for Walking in the Spirit

Consider the words that are about to come out of your mouth before you speak. Don’t allow your words and interactions to be driven by emotion. Instead slow down and speak from a place driven by the Spirit and not the flesh. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide every word that comes out of your mouth. Ask Him to alert you when you say or are about to say something that would not be pleasing to Him.

Use this scripture for a filter for what you allow to come out of your mouth and for what you give room to in your mind.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

Crucify your flesh by fasting, prayer, and denying it by not letting it have its way. It is not easy to walk by the Spirit and not our flesh. It takes time, work, and sacrifice. It doesn’t happen by accident and our flesh doesn’t go down without a major fight.

Determine in you mind that no matter what situation you face you will respond in a Godly manner. Work at being an imitator of Him. There are times that we feel so justified in our actions, but we really must consider if what we are doing or saying would be pleasing to Him.

Don’t beat yourself up when you mess up. Be quick to repent and change, but know there will be times you will mess up. We are not perfect and the enemy loves nothing more than to beat us up with condemnation when we fail so that we stay stuck in guilt, shame, and self pity. It can be a vicious cycle that is difficult to break, but with His help we can quickly get back on track.

Spend time in spiritual warfare against the enemy (demons). They want nothing more than to see you fail and get sidelined from doing the work of God’s kingdom. They do not want you to succeed in any area of your life. They only want to kill, steal, and destroy you. John 10:10. Verbally assault them with the Word of God and the name of Jesus.

Total surrender to God is key for every area of our lives. Do a self inventory and see if there is anything you are holding back from Him. What areas of your life do you need to lay at His feet? What is the one thing you are holding on to? That is the thing He wants you to release.

Choose to walk in the Spirit. Sometimes we just have to disciple ourselves to make the right choices and do the right thing. It sounds so easy and simple, but it is a battle. The good news is we can do all things through Jesus because He gives us the strength to change. Philippians 4:13. We cannot change on our own, but with Him we can become more like Him. No one is hopeless and there are no hopeless situations that are beyond His power. If it was based only on us and our ability we would fail every time, but it isn’t. We have a Father that we can run to and all things are possible with Him.

Seek deliverance as needed. There are times we open doors to demons either personally or from generational sin. When this is the case those doors need to be closed and the demons need to be verbally cast out in the name of Jesus.

Blessings,

Nichole Henson, Fullness of Joy Ministry