Pam Padgett - teacher
Galatians 5:16 ... Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Recently one of my neighbors was driving down the street and saw
me
outside at my house. She stopped and told me that she had been to a
meeting about the golf course which is behind our houses. The golf course has been
closed and the owner is trying to sell it. She said the next time she
saw me she would tell me what she had learned at the meeting. I thought
that something had been announced at the meeting about the status of
the golf course property and I was anxious about what this might be.
Although God has helped me each time I have turned to Him
with concerns (including about the golf course), this time I didn't turn to God to be helped and established by Him. Not dealing with this in a
spiritual way, I allowed my flesh to rise up.
The next time I saw the neighbor a day or so later, she didn't mention the golf course meeting ... but I asked about it. The flesh tries to get knowledge apart from God, to depend on what
others say, and to work things out itself. I was "on fire" to hear the latest news.
Had I turned to God and allowed
Him to settle me previously, whatever had been said at the meeting would not have
been important to me and I may not have even thought to ask about it. When we have God's word on a matter, we have what we need. We can walk in the word brought to us by the Holy Spirit which is opposite to ways of the flesh.
The neighbor reported that no announcement about the golf course had been made at the meeting. The meeting
was just a group of people trying to make plans for what to
do if the land was sold to a developer. As she told about some things discussed and disagreements already coming forth, I was
so sorry I had asked about this. I was disturbed by what I heard ... and at the same time my flesh was stirred up to want to "do something" concerning the golf course situation, but I didn't
know what to do. No good thing comes from the flesh.
After the neighbor left I turned to God, laying everything out before Him and seeking His will. I began to be helped by God, given His word in the matter to walk in.
A concept I was given which has been very helpful is that although people try to
preserve as much as possible the way things of this world are now, God has told us
that these things are temporary and will ultimately be destroyed by Him at the end of the world (2 Peter
3).