Living a “holy” life is not valued in our culture. When we think of “holiness” we have been trained to think about the obnoxious “church lady” on SNL, some radical religious group ensconced in a commune, or the life of a monk or a nun shut away from the pleasures of the world. Nothing could be further from the truth. God—who created all the goodness we enjoy, IS the personification of that goodness and HE is HOLY.
Goodness and holiness flow from the same fountain—the presence of God.
Unfortunately, we want God’s goodness—without His holiness.
We want to steal the fruit from His tree.
We want the privilege without the responsibility.
That is…until we truly experience God’s presence.
God’s presence is the crowning glory of all goodness we experience.
The closer we walk with God, the more He transforms us and the more we want to live a holy life because His holy presence develops our desires. That’s what the Bible means by:
“walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
(Galatians 5:16)
The key to desiring a holy life instead of enslavement to the evil desires of our fleshly nature is in discovering the delights of God’s presence. He is far more satisfying and…
We were created to be satisfied by God!
When God begins transforming our desires, it is extraordinary! Why? Because we become victorious! Those who have received the gift of salvation have experienced the raging battle between their flesh and their born-again spirit. When the spirit man becomes consistently victorious—our life becomes satisfying on a level we never knew possible. God’s Word explains:
“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.”
(Galatians 5:17)
The struggle is real. Our flesh, the world and the devil are constantly trying to defeat us and rob us of all the blessings God has for us.
So…how do we win?
Well, remember, what you feed the most, grows the most. So the part of us we feed the most is going to be the strongest—right? So if we graze on a diet of unholy trash—we are feeding the flesh and it becomes a huge, roaring lion demanding more and more. But if we starve it from what is not holy it becomes a pip-squeak cowering in the corner. Just ask any drug or sex addict—bad addictions are never satisfied and will destroy you. But there is one addiction that will never destroy you and that is an addiction to God’s presence. We must feed ourselves with the goodness of God. Paul explains what that looks like:
“Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:8-9
When we fill our mind with God’s goodness, we draw deeper into His presence which satisfies us like nothing else ever has and the contrasting results are striking.
Feeding the flesh produces
“sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies;”
Feeding the spirit produces
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
(Galatians 5:19-23)
Do you see the incredible value of holiness?
When we experience the satisfaction of God’s holy presence, we discover the BEST life worth living.
To learn more about Kimberly Faith and the mission of Faith Strong, click HERE.
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