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William Barclay said, "Love always involves responsibility, and love always involves sacrifice. And we do not really love Christ unless we are prepared to face His task and to take up His Cross." The Holy Spirit is waiting to help us take up that Cross and carry it. 

Protector

 The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. — Psalm 121:7-8 (NIV) We observe this promise in action when we consider the life of Joseph, son of Jacob. The overarching theme of Joseph's life was that no matter what circumstances he faced, God was always with him. Whether it was dreams about the future, struggles with his brothers's poor treatment of him, whether his work was in slavery, his ability to explain dreams, his abilities ot manage the food source for millions of people, or reconnecting with his family, God was with him as He promised. Those of us who have accepted Jesus as our saviour also have a promise. It is a promise that He will never leave us, and He will supply what we need spiritually, and He has prepared for us a place with him in heaven for eternity. We also have a demonstration of God's ability to protect and use us so long as we are faithful to Him.

Good

Jesus responded to a man by saying that none is good except God alone (Mk 10:18, Lk. 18:19). From this we need to understand that when we allow the Holy Spirit to direct us, the result will turn out to honor God, when our values are similar to God’s we will be satisfied that the results are “good” for the Father, not necessarily what we may define as good for us. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” — Romans 8:28 (NLT)

Choices

Our lives on earth is all about choices. We can choose to learn about good and evil; we can choose to use good or evil words; we can choose to do good or evil acts. We can choose to encourage others, or not. Our spiritual life is all about choices as well. The first choice is to believe in Jehovah God, the second most important choice is to accept that Jesus is His son and our pathway to redemption. Beyond this, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide and sanctify our choices. Evelyn Underhill said, "The spiritual life is a stern choice. It is not a consoling retreat from the difficulties of existence, but an invitation to enter fully into that difficult existence, and there apply the Charity of God, and bear the cost."  

Desire

Creatures God created are driven by desire. An animal, fish or bird is driven by at least two primal desires, to exist (food, and water, safety, companionship) and to reproduce. Humans also have these, followed by a desire for acceptance by other humans. Beyond these needs for existence is the desire to reproduce. A significant part of this process is attraction of one gender to the other. Satisfaction of reproductive desires can escalate into cravings, a strong desire to solve the need in a particular way.

Similar to the other parts of creation, God made the bodies of His human creation to alert them to needs for survival. At times, a dry mouth or thick tongue becomes a signal from the body that hydration is needed. A growl from the stomach is a signal that sustenance is needed. As these needs increase, intensity to satisfy them escalates. These needs are critical to our bodies for survival, but they must be controlled. A really thirsty or dehydrated person can attempt to drink more water than their body can absorb quickly; thus they become sick. The same is true for hunger. This bodily alarm indicates that cells need energy. When one attempts to satisfy intense hunger, one may eat more food than can be timely digested and distributed to body cells; sickness ensues.  The end result is actually worse for the body than a slower pathway to gaining the needed result. Beyond this, some bodies signal a need for solving bodily needs by a strong desire for a particular food or drink, a craving.

Like Jesus, humans exist in this environment we call the world. We live in the world, work in the world, and function as human beings in the world with other human beings. This is God’s will for humans. Jesus didn’t pray that His disciples would be removed from the world, but they would be kept from the world (John 17:15), or essentially being controlled by the world’s values. There is nothing wrong with going to work, enjoying a sport, buying a house or a new car. We may even enjoy having and wearing beautiful clothes. Those things are part of living a fruitful life in our environment, earth. These desires are not wrong unless they consume and preoccupy their thoughts, pushing God’s interests aside.

Desires and cravings extend to other aspects of their physical lives, as well. Companionship is a fundamental need for humans as are their psychological, emotional, and sexual needs. These needs are some of the most difficult to monitor and control. Our minds works at an amazingly fast pace and actions caused by these needs and desires are often difficult to rapidly understand and fully manage. A Christian has a huge advantage since they have the Holy Spirit (God) dwelling inside them. Sometimes this seems like a complete solution, however, we must realize that although we have the greatest entity that exists living inside us, He does not overpower our personal choices, (good or bad). Like Jesus, God does not force us to make any particular decision. 

The struggle we humans face between good and evil or flesh and spirit have been described and debated for millennia. There seems to be absolute answer for many items, but many others have several acceptable answers considered “good”, and righteous before God. In the social aspect of human life, attraction and bonding can defy logical explanation. Humans of both genders can be filled with strong emotions of anger, envy, and hurt; these feeling can cause opinions they never thought possible and actions that follow, may be astounding. Competition between acquaintances can be similar to lower class animals.

Humans also have spiritual aspects of their lives. Humans also desire to know the reason they exist; due to this, many pursue locating a supreme being.  Some find Jehovah God. This desire leads to expectations.  Desire+expectation=Hope. Hope that He will always love them and protect them spiritually. When the biblical writers focused on the physical interests, they generally referred to them as concerns of the flesh, or dominated by non-spiritual elements. When a person decides to accept Jesus as their savior, all their past physical and spiritual mistakes are erased before God; they are as pure as newborn infants. Not only this, but the Holy Spirit begins to reside within them. This indwelling prompts them to remember what they have learned from scripture. Those who are sealed by God and are His children are expected to increasingly act as He desires. Paul would say, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Gal.5:16 (NIV) or “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.” Gal.5:16 (NLT)

Hidden

Many people become uncomfortable when information or actions are hidden from them; they want to know more information about many things. When information is uncertain, humans create explanations. Jesus was careful to instruct His disciples about His coming death, but they did not understand without the help of the Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit helps us to understand at a rate we can comprehend, the only pathway to an eternity with the Father. “But God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God. Is there anyone who can understand his own thoughts except his own inner spirit? In the same way, no one can know the thoughts of God except God's Spirit. Now, we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we can understand the things that were freely given to us by God.” 1 Cor. 2:10-13. (ISV)

Fear

Fear is a compeling emotion. First, one needs to believe there is something that exists to fear. Once this has been established, one should attempt to understand the item that is feared. Some people many fear rattlesnikes since they can be lethal. With some knowledge, great fear can evolve into great respect. Many people say they "fear" God, but God does not desire poeple to fear Him in this way; He wants the respect He deserves. When people really fear (or are afraid of) God, it is likely because they do not know how much He loves them. Those who know more about God, recognize He only disciplines people when nothing else has achieved the results needed. He loved us so much he sent Jesus to die a cruel death to provide a way for His children to be near Him forever. "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him." — Psalm 103:13 >> Remember He loved each of us enought to seal us with His Holy Spirit, "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit." Eph. 1:13 (NIV)