Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal. 5:24)
Expanded Passage: Galatians 5:24
When we decide to belong to God, we ultimately decide his way is better than ours. We give him our decisions, dreams, hopes, and plans for something much better than we can imagine. At times, I feel like I have this surrender figured out and everything seems to be going well. But then—sometimes during delightful seasons, and other times during seasons of hardship—I come to a crossroads and have to choose whether I believe God’s way is actually better, or if I think I’m pretty capable of running my life without the Spirit’s leadership.
It's an inner battle. In moments when I think I have my flesh crucified, a part of it rears back up and reminds me of how far I have to go. It can be discouraging to see what parts of me the Spirit will need to crucify to walk the Jesus way. But then there is a shimmer of hope when I am able to stop and reflect on how far I have come, how I am becoming more myself and getting clearer glimpses of who God is.
Each layer I discover about God is more mysterious than the last layer I discovered, and hope, love, joy, and an all-surrounding sense of his Spirit seem even nearer than before. The invitation to become less allows him to become more—and here we find belonging.
Reflect on your testimony: How has God been faithful?
Sarah Linder is a lay minister for congregational care at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, and a stay-at-home mom of three boys.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
