Trust the Spirit Inside you Romans 8:5-11

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. Romans 8:5-8

I share this verse a lot with Christian friends who are struggling and worrying about making a decision. "I can't decide whether to Study Abroad in France or India. I want to do God's will, but I don't know what that is!" I ask them, "Well what do you want to do?" They look puzzled, as though they have never thought of that verse. I show them this verse. "If you had a sinful mind you would not want to or be able to submit to God's will, but since you want His will to be done in his life then you live according to the Spirit and "those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." If you are praying for God's will, and you want one thing more than the other, then go for that. Remembering too, that He is sovereign and if you made a decision not in accordance with His will, though not rebelling either, He'll probably set you straight.

This idea was revolutionary to me, when I first realized it. I always thought that what I wanted, as a person of the world, must be the opposite of what God wanted for me, ignoring the power of the Spirit. God puts in us desires, so that we may know His direction.

I'm sure this could be misused and misinterpreted, but it is up to the individual to decide if they are living in the Spirit and feel life and peace. As a guideline ask yourself how you feel about what you want? What kind of wanting is it? If you find yourself wanting to lean towards a certain decision, but yet your angry, anxious, stressed and don't want to pray about it or seek God's will, maybe afraid of what he'll say. Remember verse 6: "The mind of the sinful nature is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God."

I have to remind myself of this verse though every time I am struggling with a decision. "What I want is not always the wrong answer...in fact it may be pointing me to the right answer." I've got to learn to trust that Spirit inside of me.

By the way, I LOVE Romans 8, so there may be a lot of postings on it.