Our Focus This Week: Walking with the Holy Spirit is more than acknowledging His presence. It
is learning to follow His direction, surrender our desires, and respond to His leading. Each
morning, read the passage, reflect, pray, and look for a way to practice what you are learning.

Day 1: Who Is Setting the Pace?
Read: Galatians 5:16–25
Morning Reflection
Think back to the three-legged race illustration from Sunday. Two people were connected, but
simply being connected did not mean they were moving together. They had to pay attention,
adjust their pace, and move in the same direction.
Paul tells us to keep in step with the Spirit. Yet how often do we expect the Spirit to keep in step
with us? We make our plans, determine our priorities, and then ask God to bless the direction
we have already chosen.
Walking with the Spirit requires a different posture. We still plan and make decisions, but we
hold those plans with humility, trusting that God’s wisdom is greater than our own.
Keeping in step with the Spirit begins when we stop insisting on setting the pace.

Reflect:
Am I genuinely seeking God’s direction, or mainly asking Him to bless decisions I have already
made?
Today: Before beginning your day, surrender your plans to God. Ask Him to show you where your
priorities may need to change.

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Day 2: Learning to Pay Attention
Read: Romans 8:5–6, 12–14
Morning Reflection
It is difficult to walk in step with someone when you are not paying attention. Our schedules,
responsibilities, conversations, and devices can consume our attention until we move through
an entire day without intentionally considering God’s direction.
Paul reminds us that those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit
desires. Keeping in step calls us to become more attentive to God through prayer, Scripture,
reflection, and a willingness to recognize when our attitudes do not reflect His character.
The Spirit does not compete with God’s Word. He helps us understand and respond to the truth
God has revealed.
Sometimes the first step toward following God’s direction is slowing down enough to pay
attention.


Reflect:
What distractions or habits make it difficult for me to remain attentive to God?
Today: Schedule times today to pause, pray and consider your thoughts, decisions, and interactions.

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Day 3: When My Desires Pull Me in Another Direction
Read: Galatians 5:16–18
Morning Reflection
Our natural desires do not always lead in the direction God wants us to go. Paul describes the
conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. Even when we want to follow Jesus, we can struggle
with pride, anger, impatience, selfishness, or the need for control.
Someone hurts us, and we want to respond harshly. We are criticized, and we become
defensive. Someone disappoints us, and we hold on to resentment.
Walking with the Spirit does not mean these impulses instantly disappear. It means recognizing
them and surrendering rather than allowing them to control our actions.
Keeping in step with the Spirit often means choosing God’s direction over what feels natural in
the moment.


Reflect:
What reactions most often pull me away from the direction God wants me to go?
Today: When frustration, pride, or impatience rises today, pause before responding and ask God for a
Christlike response.

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Day 4: When God Leads in a Different Direction
Read: Acts 16:6–10
Morning Reflection
Paul and his companions wanted to preach the gospel. Their intentions were good, yet Acts 16
describes the Holy Spirit redirecting their journey.
Good intentions and worthwhile plans do not mean every opportunity is the direction God wants
us to take right now. Sometimes we become so committed to our plans that we resist
considering another possibility.
Walking with the Spirit requires humility and flexibility. At the same time, not every obstacle is a
message from the Spirit. We seek discernment through prayer, Scripture, wisdom, and mature
counsel.
Keeping in step means being willing to change direction when God leads us somewhere
different from where we intended to go.

 

Reflect:
Where am I holding so tightly to my plans that I may be unwilling to consider another direction?
Today: Bring one decision before God today. Consider whether you have genuinely remained open to
His direction.

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Day 5: Listening Is Not the Same as Following
Read: James 1:22–25; Galatians 5:25
Morning Reflection
Imagine a three-legged race where one person understands how to move together but refuses
to adjust their steps. Knowing what to do would not help much.
We may know Scripture, recognize a wrong attitude, and understand the importance of
forgiveness and humility, yet still resist acting. James reminds us not merely to listen to the
Word, but to do what it says.
Sometimes the challenge is not discovering something new. It is responding to what God has
already made clear: apologizing, forgiving, serving, or changing a habit.
Keeping in step with the Spirit requires more than recognizing God’s direction. It requires a
willingness to follow.


Reflect:
What do I already know God wants me to do that I have been postponing?
Today: Take one specific step of obedience today, even if it is uncomfortable.

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Day 6: Staying in Step Changes Who We Become
Read: Galatians 5:22–26
Morning Reflection
Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities reflect the character of Jesus.
This connects to our first core value, Seeking the Heart of Jesus. We do not simply want to
behave like Jesus when people are watching; we want our hearts to become more like His.
That transformation is the Spirit’s work as we surrender our attitudes, desires, and decisions to
God. It is not instantaneous, and we will still struggle. But over time, His work should become
visible in our relationships and reactions.
The more we learn to keep in step with the Spirit, the more our lives should reflect the heart of
Jesus.


Reflect:
Where can I see evidence of the Spirit changing my character over the past year?
Today: Choose one fruit of the Spirit to pray about and intentionally demonstrate today.

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Day 7: Keeping in Step Together
Read: Ephesians 4:1–6
Morning Reflection
Walking with the Holy Spirit is not only individual. We are also called to seek His direction
together as the church. Ephesians 4 calls believers to maintain the unity of the Spirit through
humility, gentleness, patience, and love.
In Acts 13, church leaders worship, fast, and seek God together as the Holy Spirit directs their
mission. They are not simply pursuing separate agendas; they are depending on God together.
Greater Nashville Church includes different backgrounds, personalities, experiences, and
opinions. We will not always see everything the same way. But we are called to pursue God’s
direction together, with humility, listening, patience, and a willingness to surrender personal
preferences.
A Spirit-led church is not one where everyone gets their own way. It is one where we are learning
to surrender our own way to God’s direction.

 

Reflect:
Am I helping Greater Nashville Church keep in step with the Spirit through humility, love, and a
willingness to seek God’s direction with others?
Today: Pray for unity and discernment among our leaders, small groups, and ministries. Take one step
that strengthens unity.

A Final Thought: One Step at a Time
Galatians 5:25 — “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Walking with the Holy Spirit is not something we accomplish in seven days. It is a lifelong
journey of dependence on God. There will be times when we get ahead of ourselves, resist His
direction, or simply fail to pay attention. But God has not left us to navigate life alone. He has
given us His Spirit.
The goal is not to get God to walk in step with us. It is to learn to keep in step with Him.