I became aware years ago that I was missing something in my walk with the Lord. The way that I became aware of this was through other Christians. They just seemed to have more of the fruit of the Spirit.
Have you ever met someone that had more of the fruit of the Spirit than you? Didn’t it make you take another look at yourself?
I wanted what they had. Although at the time, I was not sure how to go about acquiring that. I am not sure I even knew what I was witnessing. When they started talking about letting God direct their day, or when what I thought would have been upsetting to them wasn’t, I knew I needed to be closer to God.
My journey for a deeper relationship with God began simply because I wanted what I saw in them – something that I was missing. They had a relationship with the Lord that was closer than I thought possible.
When people talk about the fruit of the Spirit, they often reference Galatians 5: 22 & 23. Today, I want to look at verses 22-26. The last verse seems almost like an obvious, but it really holds a key that we often overlook.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:22-26
Vain glory is seeking after the praise of men. When you don’t care what people think, you won’t become defensive so quickly. When you are not paying attention to the status you have and others have, you won’t provoke others to envy you and you won’t envy others.
If you seek praise, you care too much about what others think. This ultimately serves to enslave you to seeking always to act for the wrong reasons, and to defend yourself needlessly.
The closer you walk with the Spirit, the more fruit of the Spirit you will have. Another way to say this is that the more surrendered you are to God, the more fruit of the Spirit you will have.
The hardest thing to surrender is self. When you are all about you – when what others think matters – you lose. You miss the blessings because what folks think will come before serving God. Your focus will be more in tune to people. You miss the fullness of the fruit of the Spirit because you cannot obtain it that way. You won’t be able to rest in the Lord enough to have all of it.
LIFE APPLICATION
Key Focal Verse:
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:24-25
Today’s challenge is to seek the fruit of the Spirit in its fullness. Let go of self. Let go of what other folks think of you. Be aware that being on the defensive is often a flag that you are seeking the praise of others. Focus on serving our awesome Lord. Ask God to show you how to fully surrender.