SPIRIT,
WALKING IN
WALKING in the Spirit involves direction, dependency, and dedication. When we walk, we do so because we are headed somewhere. That is direction. When we walk, we put one foot in front of another, leaning all of our weight on one leg for each step. That is dependency. When we walk, and are attempting to go somewhere, we take continuous steps. One step is not walking. Continuous steps are. You have to keep taking steps in order to get someplace. This is dedication. Direction, dependency, and dedication are just as necessary in our spiritual walk.882
[Perseverance]
Job 17:9; Gal. 6:9
YOU CAN’T put a CD in a cassette tape player. You can’t do it. The CD won’t fit, nor will it play because the cassette player is not constructed to take that media form. We fail to walk in the Spirit when we attempt to take spiritual information and give it to the flesh to operate. It won’t work.883
[Flesh, Walking in]
Rom. 12:2
WALKING in the Spirit brings intimacy with God. In movie theaters, the films are shown on large screens so that the picture is visible to all. Moviegoers are usually more than a few feet away. They see the picture but from a distance. In 3-D movies, moviegoers are given special glasses. Looking at the film with these glasses creates a different viewing experience altogether. The pictures leap off the screen and seem close enough to touch.
For many Christians, God seems to be at a distance. He’s way out there in the heavens. We know He created the sun, the stars, the moon, and the universe. We believe in God. We love God. But, when it comes to a 3-D experience, He doesn’t seem close enough to touch.
Walking in the Spirit magnifies our experience with God and allows us to see Him with special lenses. It allows us to have a 3-D experience.884
[God, Knowing; Jesus, Relationship with]
Deut. 4:7; Ps. 71:12; James 4:8
MANY airports have moving sidewalks. They allow travelers to get around the airports a little faster than they would walking around on their own power. The travelers can still walk but now are able to do so with ease because of the force underneath them propelling them forward. Walking in the Spirit implies that the Christian is still on the move. They are not sitting down or being passive. They walk but with the Spirit’s help guiding them, governing them, and getting them to their destination.885
[Holy Spirit, Guidance]
John 16:13; Gal. 5:16
LEARNING to walk in the Spirit is like a baby learning how to walk. At first, it can be awkward and a little wobbly. When a baby has been crawling for a while, it takes some time to develop the level of comfort and strength needed to walk well. Falls will happen frequently. Though the learning process is not always smooth, sooner or later the baby discovers that the ability to walk will get him a lot farther than he used to get when he crawled on his knees.886
[Spiritual Maturity, Growth]
1 Cor. 13:11
IF YOU have ever seen a fish out of water, you know that it just flops around, wiggling and jumping all over the place. If it’s out of water, it’s also out of where it’s supposed to be. It’s out of its intended environment. The fish is trying to move but it can’t go anywhere because it’s not in the environment it was made to be in. So it flops and twists and flips, absolutely going nowhere. Why? Because it’s trying to be fishy in a nonwater environment and it wasn’t created for that. So no matter how much flipping and flopping it does, all it’s doing is running out of breath. The fish will die because it is not in its home.
A lot of Christians are flipping and flopping, trying to do better, but we are running out of breath and getting tired because we are not doing it in the right environment. The environment for living our Christian lives has to be the Spirit.887
[Life, Management of]
Gal. 5:16–25