A fun thing to do as a child living in the north, where snow blankets the winter experience, was stepping into my father’s footprints in the snow. His stride, of course, was much longer than mine, but I would stretch to reach the next indent in the snow, trying not to mess up the surrounding snow. My goal was to look back and see only one set of footprints.

Keeping in step with the Holy Spirit is much like that: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25 ESV). Spirit-filled living is not an overly spiritualized emotional feeling of God’s presence. No, it’s keeping “in step” with the Spirit. No angel dust will come sprinkling down on us or catch us up in some exotic or ecstatic trance. Yes, some biblical characters had phenomenal experiences, but a careful study of Scripture shows that such times were relatively rare, certainly not the norm. The inspired apostle Paul told us that spiritual living is about “keeping in step” with the Holy Spirit, not about a feeling.

On the other hand, we must be careful not to give lip service to the Spirit and then go about living in our own strength, trying to abide by a Christianized version of the law. The church is filled with many who lived powerless lives (see Col. 2:20-23). We need to live on a higher plane than that! So, how does this Spirit-high-stepping work?

Just like a child walked in the snowprints of his father, we need to walk in the spiritual footprints of the Spirit. We see God’s spiritual indents and imprints in the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23). That is the movement of God in accomplishing Christlikeness in our lives. To be sure, fruitfulness is Spirit-enabled and endowed—that is God’s part. Our part is to keep in step with what He wants to do in our lives.

So how do we keep in step with the Spirit? By practicing or rehearsing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we join with the Spirit’s effort in us, from practice to reality, as we do our part. Why should we use our human effort to work against what He is trying to do in our lives? We should align our efforts to the pathway of the Lord.

Here is one practical way we can do that. Each day take one of the fruits of the Spirit and practice it. Search for Bible passages that teach about that fruit. Then consciously look for ways to rehearse and act out that fruit throughout the day. Take joy, for example. Look for ways to smile even if you don’t feel joyful inside. Laugh at others’ jokes or witticisms, even if they aren’t funny. Relish in the small blessings that come your way, even if you have to strain to see them. When you have a near accident driving into work or the store, you could grumble and make an obscene gesture (if only in your mind), or you can take joy that God protected you from harm and got you to work on time. In your Bible reading, don’t just go through the motions or mentally note its truth. Instead, express joy to God for what you just learned about Him, yourself, or your relationship with others. For that day, turn every thought into an opportunity for joy. Take time to smell the flowers and enjoy God’s creation!

Hard to do this for all the fruit of the Spirit? Yes. Unrealistic? No. Stretching? Yes! Like a child reaching for his father’s next footprint, we extend our Spirit-living capacity by reaching for the fruit that God wants for us. Impossible to make it actually happen? Of course. That is where the Spirit’s enabling comes in. Over time, practice may not make us perfect, but we will grow into the Christlike spiritual living God wants to accomplish through His Spirit. In time, we will be able to look back and see just one set of footprints as we learn to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.