Daily Devotional for Sunday, February 2

Follow the Spirit To Be Free

"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law;' Galatians 5:18.

Psychologists and sociologists have studied birth order for decades. Typically, there are extreme differences between a firstborn child and a last-born child. In general, if you were to take them to an amusement park, the oldest childwouldbe takingin the experience withappreciation, following all the signs and walking around from ride to ride right next to his parents, while the youngest child would need one of those backpack leashes.

For some of us, it is difficult to accept God's grace and forgiveness because we feel like it is too easy. Certainly we must prove that we are good enough to be a child of God, right? The idea of living in freedom is too broad for our minds to comprehend, and we look for a set of rules to check off. We also want to impose those rules on others so that we can point out when they have failed and chastise them for such things. We put on a spiritual backpack leash, restricted and constantly worrying about how far we can go before the guilt, shame and anger arise when we realize we hit the end of our rope. Paul wrote in this passage that it should not be this way. He said that we are no longer governed by the Law because, as believers, we are led by the Spirit of God. Like a firstborn child, we walk with Jesus as our guide, enjoying with appreciation the journey as He leads us. After salvation, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and submit to the will of God in our lives. We no longer let the struggle of sinful desires control us. The freedom Christ brings allows us to serve him faithfully apart from guilt and shame.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Let the Holy Spirit be your guide and willingly submit to the will of the Father with your freedom in Christ.

Ashley Ridings