Read: Romans 8:1-17
Question: Do you think we’d be better off if Jesus was still walking around the earth today?
You might be tempted to say yes, but there’s one really important person who would disagree with you: Jesus himself.
In John 16:7, Jesus says, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate [the Holy Spirit] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”
Jesus is saying, “You think walking with God next to you is good, just wait until you get to walk with God within you!”
We’ve said a few times the past few days that people-pleasing is a trap...and it can be a very powerful trap at that! Breaking free from living for the approval of others is incredibly difficult, in fact it’s downright impossible if you try to do it alone.
The great news is that if you are a follower of Jesus, you aren’t alone. You have the Holy Spirit at work within you. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Meaning you have everything you need to break free from the power of any sinful behavior or destructive mindset.
The key is to stop fighting from your own strength and start fighting with the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul explains that in every Christian there is the old sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. And we have the choice to either let the sinful nature rule, or let the Holy Spirit rule.
When you are tempted to fall back into people-pleasing, and when we’re tempted to compromise ourselves to win the approval of those around us, remember that you have another option. You don’t have to stay in that people-pleasing snare. When you begin to listen more to the voice and nudges of the Holy Spirit more than the voices of the people around you, you are letting the Holy Spirit lead and the sinful nature starve.