Without the power of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives, we are constantly doing the things we know we shouldn’t do and living in a perpetual cycle of screw up and beat up. The power of our flesh is strong. We want what we want, and the flesh won’t stop nagging at you until you give it what it wants.

This is how we become slaves to our own ways. We’re not free to make better decisions, our old ways drag us back to old prisons where we’re chained doing the things we said we never wanted to do again. But here we are, doing them. Stuck. Miserable. Ashamed.

But Paul writes in Galatians 5:1, “Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you STAY FREE and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

I used to think that being a Christian meant I had to follow more rules and give up more freedoms. I thought it meant I couldn’t have fun and I would be continually measured and judged. But my friends, it’s quite the opposite.

Following Christ sets us FREE. We are free from the bondage of sin. We don’t have to stay stuck doing what we used to do. We are also free from slavery to the law. This law Paul is referring to is the 613 commands in the Old Covenant. Under the old law, you break one, you’re too far gone. There was no amount of obedience that could make up for one single disobedience. So the law held us captive in fear of messing up, never being good enough, always missing the mark.

And that’s precisely why God sent his son Jesus. Only the perfection of Jesus could make this right. Only Jesus could set us free forever.

The law was not abolished, but the law was completed through Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” He paid the price of perfection we could never pay.

So, how does that help us in our battle with the flesh that constantly craves what is wrong? Ahhhh, this is the key! Jesus’ sacrifice not only set us free from the law, but also gives us a gift to change us from the inside out.

If you are chained to the law, you will continually feel not good enough. You will see yourself as a failure. You will feel hopeless to ever do better. In fact, you know what someone does when they know they’ve already screwed up, they just go ahead and screw up some more. That’s the way our flesh works. Hey, I already screwed up and ate brownies for breakfast, why not have some cookies too? Hey, I lost my sobriety streak this weekend, so why not go ahead and have a little drink on a Tuesday too? Hey, I already had an affair, so what will chatting with this other little cutie really hurt? Hey, I’ve already blown up my budget, so I might as well see what’s on Amazon today.

This is how we dig the hole deeper. We make things worse because we’re already not good enough and without hope of ever making ourselves good enough for the perfection of the law. So God said, enough … I don’t want my girls struggling like this! My son Jesus will set them free from that trap of unworthiness. He will pay the price for their freedom. They will know they are already forgiven and free to come back to the fullness of life I have for them, even when they haven’t been perfect.

Now, the gift that changes us from the inside out … God’s Holy Spirit! Galatians 5:15, “Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.”

As I studied Galatians this weekend, I was absolutely slayed to realize what my flesh is capable of. That fleshy, sinful nature within me is capable of unimaginable, terrible things. I always put myself on some sort of pedestal knowing I would never do the horrendous things others have done, but the truth is, none of us belong on that pedestal. We’re all capable of those terrible things. We’re all susceptible to twisted thoughts and weak fleshy moments. In the wrong place at the wrong time, you could wreck your life and ruin a few others in the process. That’s what is in all of us. Evil.

I’m not better than a single soul spending the rest of their life in prison. That same flesh is in me. That same sinful nature prone to evil that dwells in them is in me. What a humbling thought.

But Jesus has set us truly free. Now, we have to STAY FREE.

How do we do that? We let the Holy Spirit guide our lives. The Holy Spirit prompts us from within revealing to us what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong. It’s there. You know it. You’ve felt it. It’s that little voice that says, “you shouldn’t do that.” It’s that little gut feeling that says, “this is wrong.” It’s also that confirmation within that says, “whew, good job, you overcame that temptation and did the right thing just then!”

When we let the Holy Spirit guide us, we start changing. Naturally. From within! This is how we become the new creation 2 Corinthians 5:17 talks about, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” This new life is one with a new direction.

A life in Christ is under the direction of a new lead. Without Christ, all you have is the desires of your flesh with sinful cravings. But with Christ, you are given the gift of the Holy Spirit as your lead.

Maybe you’ve tried to change before and that change was short-lived and then you went right back to your old ways. Well, I have to believe if you’re hearing this today, that is the work of God’s powerful Holy Spirit saying, “My girl, try again with ME as your lead! Turn to me for supernatural strength. Let me heal this in you. Let me change your desires.”

One of my favorite examples of this is my dear friend Christel who’s husband struggled with alcohol for most of his life. It was ruining their marriage and she was at the point of leaving forever. One night he drove to the liquor store to buy another bottle of his poison of choice, and as he sat in the car battling the sinful cravings of his flesh, he felt the physical touch of God on his shoulder. In that instant, his desires were changed. He drove home that night without a drink and he’s never gone back. He has been miraculously healed of a life long addiction.

That’s the power of God. That’s what his Holy Spirit does in your life … it changes your desires.

If you begin following the prompting of his Spirit, soon you will see the sweetness of the life only he can offer and no one could make you go back to your old life. Nothing could make you trade the joy, peace and freedom God has offered you, and return to the old chains you were once held in.

This is change. This is freedom. This is what Jesus does for us!

Practice following the small promptings of the Holy Spirit. You’ll feel it … “I don’t want you to say those things anymore. I want this to change. I want you to turn this off. I want you to show up with joy and energy. I want you to be more patient with them today. I want you to just be kind. I want you to give this to me.” Trust it. Do it. Then, and only then, you will see your desires begin to change.

God started working on me to clean up some areas of my life. I felt those promptings for a long time before I surrendered in obedience. But let me tell you, once I did, he completely changed my perspective and my desire. I don’t want to go back to the way I was. I don’t want to return to the way I was doing it. I can literally see for myself how much better God’s way is. WHAT A GIFT!

God has the same gift for you, my friend. Open your hands and receive it. Follow his prompting. Make those changes. You will never regret it. You are free!

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