The Vector of the Spirit

Glancing down as I return home I am pleasantly surprised by little bird tracks impressed in the sidewalk.

This little bird was moving quickly through the freshly poured concrete.

 He must not have had a care in the world as he scurried through at an unknown rate then stopping for a moment.

Speed is the rate at which something goes through a specific distance.  The author of these prints was not just going a specific speed as he traversed through this medium but he was traveling in a certain direction.  Both his speed and direction kept him from getting caught up in the moment of each step.

Speed and direction are the two parts of the vector quantity velocity.  As Christians, we need not get too preoccupied with the speed at which we traverse through a specific struggle but the component that makes the path we take distinctly different is the direction that we choose to travel as we walk.

Jesus refers to two ways of traversing through life;

Matthew 7:13-14

"Enter by the narrow gate.  

For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many,  

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, 

and those who find it are few.

So often we want to speed through our lives, avoiding the very obstacles that will grow us in the ways we need.  We think that getting to the finish line of life is the goal but God is more interested in the direction of our lives for our good and His glory.

I Thessalonians 5:18-19 (NLT)

Be thankful in all circumstances, 

for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.

It is God's will for our lives to be thankful in ALL circumstances.  This trajectory is very different from the mindset of the world that tells us to avoid what is difficult at all costs and find the path of least resistance.

We are prone to go our own way, forgetting or disregarding in the moment of difficulty that as believers we are to walk in the Spirit and not give in to what our flesh wants.  Our flesh wants to lead us out of difficulties and onto a wide path, apart from Christ, the narrow way, in a direction where we can find solace from difficulties.

Is it wrong to want to avoid difficulties?  Not necessarily but if we are choosing to change the direction of our path and trust in the flesh then we are on the wrong trajectory.

Proverbs 3 points out that trusting in the Lord will safe guard us from taking the path that we want.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; 

do not depend on your own understanding.  

Seek his will in all you do, 

and he will show you which path to take.  

As we seek His will in ALL that we do, he will keep us on the narrow path and direct our lives.  We can be assured that He will take us on a path where we will grow and walk by His Spirit.

Galatians 5 gives us some evidence of life that walks by the Spirit of God

But I say, walk by the Spirit, 

and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, 

and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, 

for these are opposed to each other, 

to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

A life that is walking in the direction of the Spirit is a life that is antagonistic to what the flesh wants to do.  There is a tension there, a real struggle.  We want to do one thing whether its a thought, reaction or action, we feel the tension in our spirit to follow our flesh but the Spirit inside of us is fighting against what the flesh wants to do and vice versa.

The NLT says is like this:

These two forces are constantly fighting each other...

This goes along with 1Thessalonians 5 where it tells us to be THANKFUL in all circumstances!  How many times, faced with the path that God himself leads you on, are you embittered, angry, frustrated, joyless, and impatient?

Do any of these attributes look like the fruit of the Spirit mentioned further along in Galatians?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...

Galatians 5:25 says

And those who belong to Christ Jesus 

have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  

We must resolve to engage in the battle against what our flesh wants and what the Spirit wants.  If He is leading us into a difficult season and we kick and scream through that season we are allowing our flesh to reign in our hearts.

Being thankful takes great effort but when we choose to thank God for the opportunity to grow and see the bigger picture of HIS-story, HIS- glory then we can accumulate the fruit of the Spirit along the way.

When challenged how often do we act out of hate whether by the words we choose to say or the actions that we engage in?

I Corinthians 13 talks specifically about what love looks like and what it DOESN'T look like;

Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
...
Love bears all things
believes all things, 
hopes all things, 
endures all things.

I don't know about you but the one about not being irritable hits me like a 2 x 4!

Love, being the very first fruit in the list will precede all other fruits.  If we love the Lord and others are we patient when in a difficult circumstance?

When shaken what comes out?  How many times do we blame shift for our lack of love?  We give some kind of excuse like; I was really tired, or work has been so difficult?

I would suggest that its not the circumstance that CAUSES the lack of love in our life but we are choosing to walk in the flesh and not crucify our flesh with all its passions so that we can be like Christ.

My ESV study Bible says that to walk by the Spirit;

 implies both direction and empowerment; that is, making decisions and choices according to the Holy Spirit's guidance, and action with the spiritual power that the Spirit supplies. 

Father, we are so prone to wander onto the path of least resistance and listen to our flesh.  We are thankful that by the Spirit of God we can walk the path that You have intended for our lives no matter the difficulties found there.

Help us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we feel our feet sinking into the concrete of life so that we don't become preoccupied with each step and sink deep into the moment, but that we can be pulled up and out of our circumstances, walking in love, patiently joyful in our Lord, leaning on His everlasting love over the trajectory of our lives.

Help us to be quick to listen to Your voice, slow to speak and slow to be angry.  Help us to get ahold of the internal unrest and frustration in Your presence and deal with it by calling all out war on our flesh, bringing it under the truth of God's word minute by minute.