Decisions, Decisions
- Cathrine Schmelzer
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
“When we make the choice to walk by the Spirit, we’re making the choice to follow a leader that leads us to God’s power and presence.”
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” Galatians 5:26
If you’ve been a mom for more than 5 minutes, it’ll be no secret to you that we’re constantly making decisions. What to feed our babies, where to send littles to preschool, when to allow phones, whether your teen can go to that sleepover… seriously, I could go on for pages and pages. But arguably the most important decision we’ll make as mothers can be found a few verses up from this one: Do we walk by the Spirit or gratify the desires of the flesh? (Verse 16)
Every mom has two different versions - The flesh-gratifying mom and the Spirit-following mom. We can choose to be so wrapped up in what’s going on in the world around us, our to-do lists and all the worldly things we “need” to worry about, we completely forget to involve God at all. It’s on these days, the flesh-gratifying days, that the works of the flesh (found in verses 19-21) creep in. Jealousies, fits of anger, divisions and things like these bring chaos into motherhood, making everything we do more difficult, and less like Jesus.
Or, we can choose to walk the path of the Spirit-following moms. The chaos and busyness of life is still there, but we live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit. The ESV Study Bible says the verb used for “keep in step” can also be used to say “walk in line behind a leader”. When we make the choice to walk by the Spirit, we’re making the choice to follow a leader that leads us to God’s power and presence. We’re following a leader that fills us to overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (verses 22-23).
We don’t need to be perfect moms, just Spirit-filled moms who lean on our Helper every day.
Take a moment to:
Read Galatians 5:16-26.
Reflect on your decision to walk by the Spirit or gratify the desire of the flesh. Which of the items in verses 19-21 creep into your life when you’re trying to do it on your own? For example, I find myself my prone to division in my household, especially with my husband.
Make the choice to be a Spirit-filled mom today. Pay close attention to which of the fruit of the Spirit you see in your day, use it as fuel for your faith and a reminder to make the same choice tomorrow.
Written by Cathrine, decision-making mom of 4