Do you wonder why God’s presence isn’t manifested more on the earth? And why we don’t see the outstanding miracles that were present in the life of Jesus?
It’s because carnal compromises have corrupted God’s ways on the earth. Do we really want God’s presence to rule in our lives, or have we replaced
the challenges of God-inspired progress with the false security of inaction?
Notice what it says in Genesis 6:12, “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” Who
was responsible for the corruption on the earth? The people were. When we yield to the flesh it corrupts God’s ways in our lives. Our fellowship with and acceptance of the ways of the world have caused us to tolerate the flesh
dominating our lives.
The world feeds the flesh with immorality, intellectualism, homosexuality, dishonesty, and adultery. Our flesh will follow the course that it is surrounded
with most frequently. But it doesn’t have to be that way for believers. Through fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we can discover how to yield to our
inner man instead of yielding to the flesh. We will begin to see more clearly the ways of God and the principles He follows.
Contrary to the ways of the world, God’s ways are filled with compassion, peace, righteousness, and power. Jesus was a revelation of the Father God. Speaking
of Jesus, Colossians 1:15 says, “Who is the image of the invisible God…” Jesus was tender, yet He was unbending. He was filled with compassion, yet
intolerant of sin. He ate with the outcasts and was ruthless toward religious snobs.
Our fellowship with Him affects our perception of things. Notice what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:23 (Phillips): “Out of my way, Satan!
You stand right in my path, Peter, when you look at things from man’s point of view and not from God’s.” When we begin to view things from God’s viewpoint
we will no longer be a hindrance to His work in our lives. When we surround ourselves with His influence, our fleshly desires start to lose their grip.
The only answer for the one who lives in a continual battle with his flesh and feels destined to non-productivity is this: Take a long, sober look at what
is controlling your life. Then submit it to God and lay it aside once and for all. Let the Holy Spirit rise up in you and help you. He is ready and
willing to support you on your journey to overcoming the compromise in your life. But He cannot do your resisting for you.
There are some things that only God can do. And there are other things that only we can do. To expect God to do our part is to leave them undone. When
we finally turn against the weakness and compromise that have dominated us, and put an end to justifying and protecting those things in our lives,
the Holy Spirit will become our strong support.
