Walk by that line

“The Holy Spirit is telling me to divorce my wife,” the man said to his pastor. Despite the minister’s counsel otherwise, the husband brought misery to his family as he left his spouse. The Holy Spirit doesn’t contradict the Holy Spirit. Acting—walking—by the Spirit isn’t moving upon every internal emotional impulse. Rather, it’s like a man pulled over by a policeman. The officer wants to check the driver’s sobriety, and lays a straight tape on the ground. “Walk by that line!” the patrolman says. Walking “by” the Spirit is behaving according to His ways, no matter what the emotions or imaginations may be telling you to do.