Imagine yourself as a house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, you understand what He’s doing. He’s getting the drains right and fixing the leaks in the roof and so on. You knew those jobs needed doing, so you’re not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts and doesn’t seem to make sense. What’s He up to?

God is building a far different house from the one you imagined! You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage. But He’s not content with a cottage. He’s building a palace, an edifice worthy of Himself in which to live.5

So the question is, just what do you want your life to be like? A cottage or a palace? Do you desire the nine virtues of a good and joyful life enough to turn your life over to the Holy Spirit? Or do you want to retain control and risk the works of the flesh inching their way into more of your life and leading you further from all possibility of joy? This is not merely a onetime choice, but an ongoing decision Christians face throughout life. We must exercise constant vigilance over our lives and activities, constant openness to the expanded presence of the Holy Spirit, and constant repentance and recommitment each time we drift away from His direction.

The apostle Paul places this choice starkly before us: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:13–14).

David Jeremiah, A Life beyond Amazing: 9 Decisions That Will Transform Your Life Today (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2017).

Check out our Bible Study on the Fruit of the Spirit based on David Jeremiah’s book, A Life Beyond Amazing.

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