In review of Romans 8:9 it says, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are now controlled by the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of God living in you.”
Bottom Line:
When God’s Spirit is living in you, you will have a new nature and no longer be controlled by your desires.
What this means to me:
With God’s Spirit living within me, I am now controlled by a new nature, and no longer ruled by my desires.
Popular thinking is to give in to desires that comes our way. This however, is a destructive mindset. Just because I have the desire to eat an entire chocolate cake doesn’t mean it’s good for me to do so.
Romans 8:9 says, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are now controlled by the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of God living in you” (NLT).
The key to battling these are to tap into the Holy Spirit who has taken residence in my heart after I committed my life to following Jesus.
Before I became a believer, I only had my willpower to fight against temptations, which was not enough. I was relatively powerless against any great cravings that drove me.
However, as a believer, I now have the Holy Spirit within me and a new ability to say “no.” I still have the same compulsions, desires, lusts, and impulses I had before I began my relationship with Jesus, but now the power of God resides inside of me. Now I can say “no.”
Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” The Bible doesn’t say I won’t have sinful desires after becoming a Christian, but it does say the Holy Spirit will help me choose not to satisfy them.
Given this, I have the power to say “no.” So I should use it.
Today, I should examine what factors (like friends, family, work, and other external stresses) are making it difficult for me to say “no” to temptations. I should then consider how I can you reduce some of those factors. I can also get with those who can encourage me and help me say “no” to temptations.
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