"Walk by the Spirit, not by flesh."
devotional sessions *002*
One weekend in May, I served as a cook for Spring Roundup at the family cattle ranch where our son-in-law and daughter live. At Daughter’s request, a family member and I did the bulk of the food prep and cooking for a crowd of cowboys and their families. I could write an entire Substack post on how spending time with these beautiful, hard-working people does this city girl so much good!
If you find yourself thinking there’s no common decency left in the world, go spend time in a small country town somewhere. If it’s anything like here in Oklahoma, you’ll find people who still say yes ma’am and no sir, lift their hand to wave when you drive by, and show up to help a neighbor in need.
After a long day in the ranch kitchen, we stepped outside to take a short walk up the road. It’s quieter in the country, and we talked about how calming it is to our souls.
As we continued walking, I noticed something moving at the top of the hill. “Hold on,” I said to the friend walking with me, “I’m not sure what that is.” I could see it was an animal moving across the road, but in the country you just never know what animal…especially along about sunset.
We stopped walking, stood silently, and watched the scene unfold. After a moment, I said, “I think it’s deer, and there’s more than one.” Looking due West, the setting sun provided the perfect backdrop as we watched the family of three deer pause in the ditch beside the road.
No doubt they sensed our presence, too, and slowed their walking to hide among the tall grasses. Eventually, the deer decided all was safe, hopped over the fence, and slowly went on their way. It was such a holy moment that we forgot all about taking a picture until the deer family disappeared over the horizon.
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5.16
In writing the book of Galatians, Apostle Paul sends a warning to the church to not be fooled by false teachers. He encourages believers to remember Jesus came to abolish the Old Law, establishing a new and better gospel. Today, we walk under that New Covenant—by walking in step with the Holy Spirit!
The word walk in Galatians 5.16 means to habitually walk around in one general vicinity.1 It’s also helpful to understand that the root word for walk is often translated live.2 In other words, walking is living. As representatives of Christ here on earth, we are to walk and live by the Spirit of God.
(To dig deeper into why Apostle Paul compares walking “by the Spirit” with “desires of the flesh” read the entire fifth chapter of Galatians.)
There are times when God’s creation gives us important lessons. After roundup weekend was over, I reflected on our walk up that country road. This edition of devotional sessions was already in the works, waiting to be edited on my computer. I rewrote the introduction to include the story of the deer, as it seemed to provide a good example of the biblical lesson on how to walk.
It is a simple lesson, really. “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” In this fast-paced world we live in, we would all do well to slow down more, pay attention to our surroundings, and listen for the guidance of the Spirit.
Today, what situation(s) might you find yourself in that could benefit from a Galatians 5.16 outlook?
—Karlene
Scripture taken from New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner.
In our last devotional sessions *001 Living by Faith, not by Sight, wherever you see the word live (living), substitute the word walk (walking).