Desiring the Renewal of the Holy Spirit

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

You might wonder why you feel so dull in your spirit. Or why you don’t have power to witness as you would like. Or why your prayers seem so weak. It could possibly be because there is too much of the world, the residue of the flesh and carnality, functioning within you.

You may be listening to the wrong kind of music or watching unwholesome material on TV or online. And what about the people you associate with? Are they challenging you to be more like Jesus or are they carnal, pleasure-seeking companions who lead you away from him?

“Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord” (6:17). Be separate from what? From fellowship with things that are not pure and holy, things that are untrue and unloving and cause divisions. Things that cause separation between you and others and diminish your faith and your love and your prayer life.

Actually, God may have already spoken to your heart about what some of those things are and he is saying, “Get rid of them. Take the time to remove those from your life. Be separate from them!” And when you do this, his Spirit will renew you. God’s grace will encompass you and enable you to declare that the defilements in you are a thing of the past. The defeat from the evil one that tries to diminish your faith, your strength, your power, is a thing of the past!

God is not asking us to step out of certain things because he is some kind of moral cop trying to make sure you do exactly as he says. No, it is because he is a father who loves you and delights in your goodness. And he delights in your living a glorious, precious, wonder-filled life.