As 1 Thessalonians 5:23 reveals, humans are composed of spirit, soul, and body. Myles Monroe put it nicely by saying, “We are spirit beings, we have a soul and we live in a body.” All three components play a crucial role in the functioning of a person, and they are interdependent to thrive and be effective. Therefore, it’s important to take care of all three aspects of our being, and not neglect any of them. By nourishing our spirit, soul, and body, we can live a balanced and fulfilling life.

In this post, we will explore ways in which believers can nurture their spirit to grow in the Lord while avoiding the temptation to give in to the fleshly desires of the body that can hinder spiritual growth.

The Holy Spirit resides and Communes with our spirit

When someone becomes a believer by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her Savior and Lord of his or her life, God blesses this person with His precious Holy Spirit to dwell within and beside him or her (Ephesians 1:13). The Spirit of God enters the believer to abide in his or her spirit, helping him or her to live out their transformed life in Jesus Christ.

¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 1:13

A believer’s ability to live out their renewed life in Jesus Christ and manifest God’s glory depends on their spirit’s partnership and communication with the Holy Spirit. However, allowing ungodly and fleshly acts to dominate one’s life weakens the spirit’s effectiveness.

As believers, we need to have a strong spirit to live out the life of Christ in us. Our spirit guides our decisions and actions in life, and a healthy spirit yields to the Holy Spirit and obeys the word of God. When our spirit is weak, we are unable to commune, obey, and fellowship with God. This weakens our relationship with God and makes us more susceptible to the temptations of the enemy and the flesh. Therefore, it is important to strengthen our spirit so that we can have a strong and healthy soul and body.

Strengthen your spirit to live for God

Apostle Paul attests to this need for the strengthening of his spirit to be able to live out his transformed life in Christ when he said,

“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭9:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Just like we eat, drink, exercise, sleep, and perform all the necessary physical activities to maintain a healthy physical body, we ought to pay attention to the needs of our spirit as well. The fundamental needs of our spirit are the daily revelation of God’s word and communing with God. In essence, our spirit needs God to be effective. Without God’s word and presence, our spirit becomes dormant.

Apart from its necessary needs, the body demands the pleasures of life, and often times, we tend to fulfill the desires of the flesh at the expense of fulfilling the desires of our spirit. Apostle Paul reveals this by saying that he has to say no to fulfilling the pleasures of his body to be able to fulfill the needs of his spirit.

The flesh is naturally at war with the spirit, competing to get its desires fulfilled at the expense of the spirit. It is our conscious choice to silence the voice of the flesh and feed our spirit man. The discipline of our body will lead to the strengthening of our spirit. When our spirit is always communing with God through praying and receiving the word of God, it empowers the body to be able to fulfill the will of God also helping to renew our soul.

May God richly bless you as seek to live for God.

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