WHO IS WALKING BESIDE YOU AS YOU TRAVERSE YOUR JOURNEY OF LIFE?

SCRIPTURE:
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  
(Galatians 5:25)

MEDITATION:
When you were a small kid and you went somewhere with one of your parents, 
did you have trouble keeping up with them at times?
You may have said something like, “Mom (or dad), wait I can’t keep up!” 
You really wanted to keep pace with your parent, but you were still just a child.
There is a lot of distance between childhood and adulthood.

But why did you want to keep up with your parent?
It may have been because you didn’t want to be left behind, 
or it could have been because you wanted to be just like your parent.
At any rate, you had a period of growing up to go through 
before you could walk beside your parent without falling behind.
In the meantime, you felt secure just holding his or her hand.
You knew that as long as you were in contact with your parent, 
you would not be left behind and result in getting lost and feeling alone.

The scriptures tell us that we should ‘keep pace’ with the Spirit, 
if we want to live by the Spirit.
That means that the characteristics of the Spirit can be seen in us.
If we don’t keep in step with the Spirit, then we will fall behind 
and find ourselves alone and struggling to fight temptations in our own strength.
We need to hold on to the hand of the Spirit until we have developed His virtues.
However, even when we release His hand, 
we need to walk beside Him (keep in step) and feel His presence.

What does it mean when we ‘keep in step’ with the Spirit?
It means we have the same focus as the Spirit – to point others to Jesus.
Here is an example of a man with that kind of focus:
When Bill Borden, son of the wealthy Borden’s, went out to China as a missionary, 
many of his friends thought he was foolish to “waste his life” (as they put it), 
trying to convert a few heathens to Christianity.
But Bill loved Christ and he loved men! 

He hadn’t been out there very long 
before he contracted an oriental disease and died. 
At his bedside they found a note that he had written while he was dying. 
It read, “No reserve, no retreat, and no regrets”.
Bill had found more happiness in his few years of sacrificial service 
than most people find in a lifetime.

ACTION:
If you are a Christian, 
are you living by the Spirit and keeping in step with Him?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for blessing me with the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
Help me to realize that You gave Him to me for a reason, and that is to help 
in renewing my mind. When my mind is renewed, my focus is changed. I no 
longer wrap myself up in me and my selfishness, but I have a new concern for 
others, and in particular their relationship with Jesus Christ. Teach me how to 
keep in step with the Spirit as I start living my life under His direction, 
and not mine. When I am led by the Spirit, I know that I am going in a direction 
that pleases You.”