Galatians 5:16-22 (NLT)
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The apostle Paul explains to the Galatians how the sinful nature inside of us desires to do just the opposite of what the Holy Spirit desires for us to do. There is a constant battle taking place that does not allow the freedom to do every good deed. In the verses Paul gives examples of what the sinful nature desires and he also gives examples of what the Holy Spirit directs us towards.

There are TV shows that have captured videos of criminals breaking into places and robbing what they can. Some of them are even humorous, such as the guy who broke into a store by climbing through an air vent in the roof. He didn’t think about the fact he would be hanging 12 feet above the floor as he dropped from the ceiling. Nor did he think about how he would escape once inside because the front door was made of non-breakable glass. Our sinful nature is like a thief that robs us of our joy in life. And unlike the humorous videos this seriously affects our life. Jesus said, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” We can either give into the thief who will rob us or we can follow the Holy Spirit who will give us a rich and rewarding life. Pray the Holy Spirit would always lead you. Pray the sinful nature which tries to rob you will be captured and held in place. Pray for God to produce spiritual fruit in your life that brings you closer to Him.