Fruit of the Spirit

When the Holy Spirit is at work in my heart, He makes things happen.  The Bible calls this bearing fruit.

Fruit is visible, and it is pleasant.

What can I expect to seeing growing in me when God is having His way in my heart?

• Love, even in the face of hate

• Joy, even in the middle of affliction

• Peace, even when my world is in turmoil

• Longsuffering (patience), even when I am required to wait and endure

• Gentleness, even in response to harshness

• Goodness that overcomes evil

• Faithfulness that refuses to give up and keeps me steady in difficult times

• Gentle strength (meekness), even when my world is rioting

• Self-Control in a world of instant gratification.

This is the fruit that God wants to bear in me. I am incapable of bearing this fruit on my own, but my submission to His way and His will allows Him to bear His fruit in me.

The question for me – is this fruit evident in my life?

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Ephesians 5:⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ⁹ (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) ¹⁰ Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Photo – Squash Blooms, Beth Mims