A Spirit-controlled Life

A Spirit-Controlled Life

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Romans 8:5-6

There are many forces in the world that aim to influence and control our minds: the media, trends, advertising, secular philosophy, and materialism. Yet not one of these brings us real meaning or peace. Through computers, television, malls, and music, the enemy comes in to capture our minds and dominate our thoughts. He strategically plans to draw us away from a single-minded devotion to God. He plants fears and distracts us from what’s most important.

Then there’s our own sinful nature. If we give in to our “natural” desires, these verses say, they will spiral us downward onto a path that leads to death. The good news is in the next verse: “Letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” When we turn aside from the world’s agenda and yield our minds and personalities to Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit becomes the major force in our lives. When this is accompanied by a daily, intentional renewal of our minds through God’s Word, we gain a quiet confidence that the Lord is in control, no matter what is happening in the world around us. It will also mean that Christ has free rein to live through us and think through us by his Spirit so that others will experience his touch. And the by-products of living this way are life and peace. —CHERI

Lord, I want your Holy Spirit to control my mind, heart, and personality, so I abandon myself to you today. Direct my thoughts, words, and actions. Guard my mind from being controlled by anything that is contrary to your ways. Thank you for setting me free from sin and death through the power of your life-giving Spirit.

If Christ lives in us, controlling our personalities, we will leave glorious marks on the lives we touch. Not because of us but because of him.

—EUGENIA PRICE (1916–1996), AMERICAN AUTHOR