Galatians 5:22-23 IBS

Wednesday July 23, 2014

Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." 

            The fruit of the Spirit…we’re not talking literal fruit, we’re talking what the Holy Spirit can bring upon us. I tend to sometimes allow my flesh to get in the way of what the Holy Spirit can really do. Essentially it is the Lord of course, but He fills us with the Holy Spirit. When I say I let my flesh get in the way, I really mean it gets in the way; I am blinded. For example, in verse 20 of this chapter, it mentions jealousies. I tend to allow something as small as someone else’s clothes to make me jealous. In doing this, I am allowing my flesh to come upon me instead of the Holy Spirit.

            The Spirit can offer so much more to conquer my flesh. He offers love, an act of putting someone else before yourself. Joy, a sense of happiness (in the Lord). Peace, a calming reassurance. Longsuffering, an act of waiting for what the Lord has for you (patience). Kindness, a sense of compassion in acting towards others. Goodness, of what the Lord has to offer (His son). Faithfulness, in trusting in the Lord. Gentleness, a nice way to approach things. Self-control, being able to allow God to have the reins and not myself.

            Asking for each of these virtues to be a part of my life is one thing, but to ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit that has those virtues is another. I need to put myself in a position to be committed to the Lord and not focused on the things of this world. Of course I have to be in the world to be a blessing, otherwise what would be the point of God putting me here, but I should not be of the world. Psalm 51:10 states, “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” A steadfast spirit is a committed spirit. I want to not only pray for the Spirit to fill me, but to be able instill love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control on other people. Having the Holy Spirit in me can shine the light of these aspects and essentially bless them. Only through their own prayers can the Lord allow the Holy Spirit to come upon them, but knowing that I can shine that light is incredible.

            Without each of these aspects of the Holy Spirit, there is no law, no order. All of these are a sense of how we should be living. How do we expect to live without a law and sense of peace? God is the law and our peace. Prayer is the key to let the Holy Spirit be within us and to have each piece shine through us, thanks to the Lord.

Application: Today I need to have a committed spirit. I want to be seeking Him continually so I can have each of those aspects in my life. I can do this by prayer of course and memorizing Psalm 51:10 and Galatians 5:22-23.