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As corporations buy up and take over businesses, it is not uncommon to find a former business owner kept on as an employee of the corporation to run his former business. It can be difficult for the new employee to adjust to his subordinate position. His freedom to do whatever he wanted has been replaced with the constraints of someone else.

The Christian life can seem similarly restrictive especially when seen from a legalistic perspective (no smoking, dancing, playing cards, or drinking). However, the Christian who surrenders his life to be led by the Holy Spirit often finds that the financial and health expenses of smoking to be unrewarding, the frantic and loud environment of clubs to be un-inviting, the financial vicissitudes of gambling to be risky, and the need for the stupor inducing effects of alcohol to be no longer felt.

Walking by the Spirit is an eye-opening transformation. As we begin to receive and understand truth, we begin to see how shabby our former lives were. We can see how the inclinations of the flesh actually harm us and the brief pleasurable sensations that are sought not only do not build anything lasting, they often create a more painful future.

In addition to the new understanding we have of the undesirability of life in the flesh, we also begin to feel the pull of the desirability of a closer walk with God.

When we were distant from God, even if we weren’t given over to a flood of dissipation, we sought to secure our lives, family, property, and future as best we could. The example of Abraham and Isaac is a good one to illustrate the walk of faith in God contrasted with a walk serving ourselves.

Here we can see that Abraham had confidence that both he and his son would return. This testifies to a faith that places all confidence in the Lord to set the course of our lives. We may not understand why or how things are working out. However, we need not be anxious.

We are not in the best position to deicide the destination or even course of our lives.

Our lives become much better when we relinquish control to him who died for us and loves us.

The closer we walk with the Lord by his Spirit, the more we come to understand and appreciate his guiding hand. We need to let go of the fears and desires that drove us through life so that we can rest in the peace that trusting in God produces.

The subject of free will has been debated for centuries. However, it boils down to a choice between the flesh and the Spirit. God has given us a free choice. However, we can see that our choices almost always tend toward selfishness and harm us in the long run. It is this destructive inclination of the flesh that gives the appearance of free will. In reality we are its slaves;

It is when we come to faith in Jesus and receive freedom from the compulsive nature of the flesh, that we begin to have actual free will.

However, it is all too often that we use this freedom to drift back to the flesh and become inert in our Christian life.

Walking by the Spirit entails an almost constant mental assessment of our thoughts words and deeds. We need to employ our minds to identify our motives in the cold light of truth. Our sinful nature wants to reassert itself and retake control of our life. Our old nature seldom presents itself in open rebellion, often it employs subtle and incremental influence. Like the former business owner who comes to start making decisions as if he were back in charge, we can find we have neglected our seeking after the Lord and have begun to chart our own course.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. - Proverbs 3:6

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