Yes, it is clear that if we ask the Lord for wisdom, we are to ask in faith, taking His promise to answer us and believing it, for to doubt God makes us unstable people. Faith strengthens and stabilizes us; doubt weakens and unsettles us. We get faith by asking God for it, studying His Word, and praying to Him.
As we read, hear, and remember the gospel of Jesus Christ, our faith grows, and our prayers are bold! When we see that Jesus died to save us and sanctify us eternally, we know we can ask for a small thing like guidance on how to eat and exercise, and God will gladly give us the wisdom we need.
We talk a lot in this course about “Walking by the Spirit.” The word “by" is a preposition indicating that we walk through or in the Spirit’s power rather than by our own strength. And when we walk by the Spirit, we do not gratify the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:16). As believers, we have spirits that are willing but weak flesh, so walking by the Spirit is essential for our freedom.
But Scripture tells us to not only walk by the Spirit but also to walk with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Question 4. What do you see is the difference between walking by the Spirit and walking with the Spirit?
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Molly provides a helpful answer to the above question:
"Walking by the spirit means that I'm not relying on my own resources, the things I have learned from the world, checklists etc. Rather, I am doing things by the power of God, after I have spent time with him, abiding in his word seeking him for direction through prayer and Bible reading."
The difference is more than semantics. Walking by the Spirit means living by His power, walking in His strength, making choices through His energy, “which works so powerfully in us” (Colossians 1:29 NIV). It’s how we overcome the flesh.
Walking with the Spirit means fellowshipping with Him daily. Jesus is the “Friend of Sinners” who desires to be with us, who draws us into daily interaction, who reveals Himself and His will to us and listens as we unburden ourselves to Him.
Notice how Scripture teaches each of these truths:
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh” (Galatians 5:16-17 NIV).
The Christian can live life by the power of another, the power of God’s Spirit, and when we do, we will not gratify the desires of our flesh. When walking by the Spirit, we do not indulge our flesh because the Holy Spirit’s power is greater than our flesh's weakness. He can overcome our flesh when we walk by His power. Living by the Spirit enables us to overcome the desires that are contrary to the Spirit.
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24-25).
Walking with the Spirit means fellowshipping with Him, interacting, and living in friendship with Him daily. In walking with Him, we get to know Him relationally.
As we walk with Him, we hear His counsel and talk with Him along the way by reading God’s Word, coming to Jesus in prayer, listening carefully for His voice, and following Him away from sin.
Friend, this walking with the Spirit is the key to receive a daily plan from God as to how to eat and exercise. As we walk with the Spirit, we ask Him to show us how to eat the next day, how to exercise, and we listen to His answer, and then walking by the Spirit, we follow the plan. The plan is personal, it is practical, and it is always doable. We then walk by the Spirit to live according to the plan received.
Question 5. What do you see as the practical value of daily receiving a plan from God regarding how to eat and exercise?
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Wende's answer to the above question is extremely helpful. She writes:
"The practical value of receiving a daily plan from God:
1. It does not come from my faulty and limited wisdom and it therefore trustworthy.
2. It is good and healthy for my body because God wants to feed and care for this temple. He know what my body needs.
3. It is doable! If ever I feel it is not doable, either my flesh is trying to resurrect itself and is therefore lying to me, or the plan came from my wisdom and not from the Spirit in the first place. That is the only way it would not be doable."