Our Spiritual Allegiance

Choose this day whom you will serve. … But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. – Joshua 24:15

Our Carnal Nature Versus The Holy Spirit

We were all born with a self-centered (carnal) nature, the spirit of Satan, that inclines us to think and desire wrong things and leads to greed, rebellion, and dishonesty.

As we mature, God’s spirit of love and integrity starts calling for our attention. The spirit of God (the Holy Spirit), of which our conscience is a part, places thoughts and feelings in the heart of every person mature enough to make their own decisions. He does this to attract us to Him. If we accept this spirit’s guidance, it will make itself at home in our lives.

God wants us to choose to follow Him over living the way of our original inclinations. This will aid us in being more committed to Him in the long run. If we were born with God’s spirit dominating our life, it would not be as precious to us, for we would not have experienced the discontentment one has without it. Would we not then find it easier to neglect devotion to it?

Spiritual Impressions

God and Satan place thoughts and feelings into our minds, similar to ads we might see in magazines or on billboards. Sometimes their messages are relentless and urgent, like a flashing sign. These messages are subtle and frequently not thought of as coming from a divine source.

Perhaps you remember when a thought, quite removed from what you had been thinking, burst into your head. So sudden and bold-like that you wondered, “Why did I think that?” Or maybe a notion kept insisting that you think about it even though you continually brushed it aside. Instances like these are the working of these spiritual powers.

You probably remember that acute dread and resistance you felt when you first heard you should surrender your life to God. That emotion is from Satan, as he desperately tries to draw you away from the only Source of true peace and fulfillment. And you are acquainted with guilt, which generally comes from God.

These authorities also give us messages through the material we read and the speech of the people around us.

Martin Wells Knapp thoroughly explains this subject in his book Impressions.

We have the ability and authority to accept or reject any thought presented to us by God or Satan.

Choosing Our Allegiance 

So, here we are, influenced by Satan’s spirit and attracted by the Spirit of God, which is tirelessly on our case. Ultimately, we have a few routes before us from which to choose.

#1. We can reject the evil force and ask the Holy Spirit to rule our lives. God shall grant us our request, and we can arise renewed and ready for what He has in store for us.

Satan will continue to entice us to serve our selfish nature instead, but if we have committed ourselves to God, He will help us. As our bond with God grows, Satan will slink farther away. He will, however, never give up, and we shall fight this enemy until our death. God will, nonetheless, have His hand on our shoulders, so to speak, and we can forever rejoice in our decision to follow Him.

#2. We might choose not to decide or to wait a while before deciding. In this case, Satan will do his best to ensure we find no convenient time to change our allegiance. Also, God does not promise us another day of opportunity. Nevertheless, if we push off this decision the Holy Spirit will keep on our case, as long as we live, until we are ready to accept it.

#3. If we are tired of God bothering us and want to serve ourselves without Him reminding us of another way, we might—perhaps only subconsciously—desire God’s spirit to go away and leave us alone.

God’s spirit will then retreat, and Satan shall wrap his fingers around us and drag us deeper into his dark kingdom.

If we have seen the Holy Spirit at work in folks around us, we will be much more likely to answer its calling and devote our life to it ourselves. On the other hand, if we have never seen God’s spirit function in the lives of our associates, we will hardly commit ourselves to it. After all, is it not easier to buy something if we see it demonstrated?

Romans 1 describes the situation Satan has gotten many people into:

Claiming to be wise, they became fools. … Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. … And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. – Romans 1:22, 24–25, 28

Although the path that appears the most inviting to us leads to fear and hopelessness, God’s way always leads to a satisfied mind, substantial peace in one’s life, and joy in the soul.

(This post is taken from the book The Contentment Dilemma; Examining Life’s Mysteries and Purposes.)