Cultivating a Heart that Leans Toward God

It is true that the natural leaning of our heart is toward rebellion, following the desires of our sin nature, but all is not doom and gloom for sure. If that were the end of the story, I would raise my hands up in defeat and scream "I give up!", but God provided us with a more powerful influence in our lives than our sin nature. Right after Paul describes the struggle he experiences with his sinful nature he goes on to ask a question in a tone of self-defeat..."Who will rescue me from this body of death?" It seems logical to ask that question because that is how we feel much of the time. We want to do right, but find ourselves doing the opposite and then we feel empty or even spiritually dead. Death means separation, which makes spiritual death separation from God. When you follow the desires of the sin nature and live outside the box, you put up a barrier between you and God. You don't feel close to God, as a matter of fact, you feel like God could never love you again. That is how we feel, but it is not the truth. Who will rescue us from this body of death? Paul goes on to tell us...

"Thanks be to God through - Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Romans 7:25

'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:1-2

Paul then goes on to explain the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives by contrasting what it means to live by the sinful nature as opposed to living by the Spirit. Then he has this fantastical statement...

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's Will."
Romans 8:26-27

When we are struggling with living inside the box, we have an advocate that not only helps us when we are weak, but intercedes on our behalf to the Father, so that we might live in the box (God's Will). So cultivating a heart that leans towards God starts with a recognition that God has given us His Spirit to help us lean towards Him. Many times throughout the New Testament, we are commanded to live by the Spirit. One such time is in Gal. 5:16...

"Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
Gal. 5:16

Tomorrow I will explore what it means to live by the Spirit, but for today understand what God has given you! He has given you His Spirit, and because of this gift, no one can separate you from His love and you have become more than a conqueror! Read Romans 8 and write down your thoughts!

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