How to to walk in the Spirit – Step 2

Here’s the second principle for walking in the spirit: Be Patient. Developing daily habits requires small steps. (Gal. 6:8-9).

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:7-9).

Within 8 verses of God’s reminder to walk in the Spirit (5:25), we find another metaphor: sowing and reaping. This metaphor has a note of encouragement attached. Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (6:9).

The word picture of “sowing and reaping” reminds us that patience is a requirement where daily habits are being developed. The new habits may spring up over night, but they won’t bear fruit overnight.

It is Chuck Swindoll who is credited with the following: success = short-term goals + high accountability. If you desire to grow to be like Christ it won’t happen overnight. It takes time for new habits to bear fruit. The high accountability serves as an encouragement for you to do the task daily.  

Do the task daily, and it will become a habit. Do the habit daily, and it will bear fruit.

My dad was a farmer. While he went to college to become a school teacher, farming never really left his blood. He loved to see things grow. One of my earliest recollections with my dad was us kneeling down in the soil of our Indiana farm with our faces close to the ground. There we could see the corn just popping through the surface. I never once remember my dad bragging about how he made the corn grow. He saw himself responsible for the sowing, weeding, feeding, protecting, and harvesting the crop.

Here’s the lesson every farmer knows: you do the sowing, God does the growing.

The same is true of one’s growth in Christ. One of the reasons we grow discouraged with slow growth is because we believe in some way we are responsible for the growth. Hold that thought and remember; you do the sowing, God does the growing.

Do the daily task, let it become a daily habit, and watch as the daily habit bears fruit.

Be patient. Developing daily habits requires small steps. Rejoice in the growth you do see, and pray to the Lord of the harvest that more growth may appear.