Thursday, September 17, 2020

Week 5 Day 24

We have been on an exciting journey! Studying the fruit of the Spirit has taught us so much about the gifts we have in the Holy Spirit. One of the things I learned as I studied the fruit is that there is not a real distinction between them. They all work together in our lives as we face each day.  We may think that what we need for this moment is peace. But, when we stop to analyze what we are experiencing, we see peace working with joy and patience. The fruit of the Spirit is robust and abundant.

The fruit is the attribute of who God is. He is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we see them working in us, we see the God who loves us at work. We learn how gentle He is with us. Just yesterday I felt the Holy Spirit encouraging me to stop apologizing so much. I wrote a message to a friend apologizing for something and the Holy Spirit whispered that I did not need to. I tried retyping that message several times. I even tried to write in a way that was me apologizing without saying “I am sorry.” Each time the Holy Spirit gently spoke to my Spirit saying “No beloved! You have nothing to be sorry for.” His gentleness and patience lead to transformation.

Isn’t transformation what we desire? We want to know Him more and become more like Him. He uses the fruit being active in our lives to achieve this. As we walk with the Holy Spirit, we learn more about His character. This leads us to renewing our minds about how His character has been given to us. The transformation we see is the impatient thoughts and actions being replaced by patience. Where we thought we hurt too much to love someone, love for them overflows. The fruit of the Spirit is bigger and more powerful than a mere list in Scripture. It is the power of God at work in our lives leading us to thrive!

Be blessed!

#ThriveTOB