Here’s a truth that dawned on me a few years ago: Either the Holy Spirit is in control of me, or I'm out of control. Have you noticed that in your own life?
It is little wonder, then, why the Apostle Paul puts such a strong emphasis on living in complete, conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit in all aspects of our lives. Here’s a list that turned up in a commentary on Galatians:
"Christians are to
The writer goes on to say, “All these are varied metaphors for what is essentially one and the same thing, a life completely and continuously under the control and the direction of the Holy Spirit." (Tyndale)
How do we grow in this? It seems to me to be rooted in one key thought habit: the practice of remaining conscious of the presence of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit will, of course, help us with this and bring his presence to our attention, but we must pause, acknowledge it, and do our thinking in Jesus’ presence in much the same way as we think while sitting in a room. In other words, just as a room we’re in is the context in which we’re thinking, so consciousness of the presence of Jesus is to become the context in which we do all of our thinking.
The more frequently we do that, the more of a habit it will become and it seems to me that it is out of that continual awareness of Jesus’ presence that more and more of our thoughts and consequently our decisions come under the control of the Holy Spirit.
