October 10

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. — Rom 8:13 BSB

The Holy Spirit is the only one who can truly bring us to the place of surrender and keep us there. Many Christians try to bring about this death to self on their own, going through a continuous and exhausting struggle, but they never fully succeed. This is the Holy Spirit’s work, and when we yield to Him, we find that He brings about this transformation in a way that is surprisingly gentle and sweet.

Just as an electric shock can end life in an instant, almost without pain, so the Holy Spirit can touch the things in our lives that need to die and deal with them swiftly, once they are truly surrendered. That’s our role—to surrender. God’s role is to bring about the death and to keep it active in us.

We don’t need to live in a constant state of painful and futile attempts to kill our own desires. Instead, by reckoning ourselves dead to sin, we can leave it to the Holy Spirit. He will eliminate whatever rises up against His will, and He will keep us living in the power of His resurrection life.