If you listen carefully you will hear it. God loves to speak to His children, as much as we love to speak to our children. He loves the close communion. He loves living in close proximity with us. He loves it so much that He sent His Spirit to take up residence right inside us. We just need to listen carefully for the cadence of the Spirit.
Paul gives his fourth analogy in Galatians 5:25…
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Paul uses a different word for “walk” here. Instead of the word for walking about or the walk of life, he uses a military word. Even in the time of Paul, when the military would march, a cadence was sounded by the leader as demonstration of unity and power. All the soldiers would keep in step with the cadence. The word literally means “to walk in step” with someone.
The idea is simple. The Holy Spirit is our leader. He sets the cadence and we follow the cadence that He sets. Because He takes His direction from the Father, He knows what is best for us. Because He is God and knows the end from the beginning, He is able to lead us to a life that is the absolute best.
So, how do we walk in step with the Spirit? We simply listen for His cadence. His cadence beats from within us. Even those whose conscience was seared because of years of sin will find the Spirit bringing their conscience back to life. Our role is to listen with our hearts. The more we grow in relationship with the Spirit and the more we walk in step with Him, the more we will sense when we are out of step.
In His cadence, we hear freedom.
Galatians 5:1 says…
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
Life in the Spirit always yields freedom. Jesus set us free from sin and death so we could be free to live life to the fullest. The kingdom is meant to be a place of freedom where we experience life overflowing, nothing holding us back in any way.
This same idea of freedom is echoed in 2 Corinthians 3:17…
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Whatever binds us, the Spirit sets us free. Whatever holds us captive, the Spirit brings us release. Whatever is damned up inside of us, the Spirit pours out rivers of living water. We may not be fully experiencing this right now. But we can be certain that as we stay in step with the Spirit, He will guide us down a path to freedom.
In His cadence, we hear hope.
Galatians 5:5 says…
“For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”
Hope is the hallmark of the Spirit. The idea here is to eagerly wait for something with your neck stretched out in expectation. Our hope is for righteousness, everything as it was meant to be in the kingdom of God. It is a hope that will not disappoint. In times when we lose hope, we know we have stepped out of cadence with the Spirit. But we can be certain that when we get back in step with the Spirit, He will restore our hope and lead us down a path that leads to kingdom life.
In His cadence, we hear love.
Galatians 5:13-14 says…
"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'"
The Spirit of God marches to the tune of love. There is no love song on earth that even begins to compare to the melody being sung by God. He loves us and He fills us with love. His love flows from the abundance of heaven and fills us to overflowing. We cannot possibly contain it. It overflows. When we are walking in step with the Spirit, we will love our neighbor like ourselves. When love is lacking, we know exactly what has happened. We have fallen out of step with the Sprit, and with just one little half step, we can get back in cadence.
God used an interesting lesson to teach me how simple it is to get back in step with the Spirit. I was driving through Boulder, Colorado on a road trip with God. I like to take drives with God with no other agenda than to hear from Him. Passing by the university, I heard God say, “Drive the speed limit. I want you to always drive the speed limit from here on.”
By then, in my journey with God, I had learned that when He speaks, the best thing I can do is obey immediately and fully. I reduced my speed and begin to drive the speed limit. Within just a few minutes I looked down and noticed that I was driving over the speed limit again. Getting back to the speed limit was simple. I let my foot off the gas and lowered my speed.
In that moment, God explained why He wanted me to drive the speed limit. He wanted me to learn how easy it was to get back in step with the Spirit, whenever I would find myself out of step. He wanted me to experience how easy it was to step back into the kingdom when I stepped out.
For the next ten years, I drove the speed limit. I can honestly say that today, I know that I am never more that one step away from returning to my experience of the fullness of the kingdom of God.
Finally, in His cadence, we hear fruitfulness.
Galatians 5:22-23 says...
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
When we keep in step with the Spirit, He produces fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Love is the freedom to sacrifice and serve others. Joy is the enjoyment of the God’s blessings. Peace is the awareness of God’s protection and provision. Patience is to hold up under any and every difficulty. Kindness is being gracious to others. Faithfulness is staying power. Gentleness is power under control. Self-control is applying the authority of the kingdom over our lives.
The cadence of the Spirit is designed by God as a kingdom thermometer. When these things are present, we know that we are walking in step with the Spirit. When these things are absent, we have gone our own way. And now, we know that we are never more than one step away from walking back in step with the Spirit.
Most importantly, we have an invitation to walk in step with the Spirit. When we walk in step with the Spirit, every aspect of the kingdom life is ours. We simply step forward and they belong to us because of the Spirit in us. We begin the motion and He completes the step.
WORSHIP: Take some time to worship God for what He is teaching you about the kingdom of God and about the Spirit. He longs for you to know these truths. He loves you deeply and wants you to receive every part of this teaching to transform your life. He is able to take you from where you have walked to a place where you walk with Him and change the world. He is God.
PRACTICE: Take your journal and head out on a walk. Before you go, ask God to teach you what it means to keep in step with the Spirit. Then, as you walk be alert to what is going on around you. With each step, remember that the Spirit is there with you. Listen for anything God might want to teach you on the way. Write what you learn in your journal.
MEDITATION: Like yesterday, your starting place for being led by the Spirit is not in the mind. This concept is easy to understand. Your battle ground in in your heart. Do you believe it? It is okay if you do not fully believe it at this point. As you meditate on keeping in step in the Spirit, ask God to help your unbelief, to give you a gift of faith to get this forever settled. You may or may not resolve this today, but this is a good starting place. Continue to work this through until you believe in the power of the Spirit to produce amazing fruit in you. You will know, because you will experience the fruit, all of it.
ABIDING: By this time, it is very possible that the Father, your Spiritual Director, has led you to a place in Scripture where He wants you to abide. As you go back and read through this teaching one more time, ask the Father if there is anything in these passages specifically for you. Look for the things that reinforce what God is teaching you at this time. Write down anything you hear from Him. Spend some extra time listening to see if the Spirit has anything more to say to you or if there is a deeper teaching for you today. Write down whatever you hear. Ask the Father if there is someone, He wants you to share this with and follow through with His assignment.