But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23, NASB)
How I long to be an illustration of the fruit of the Spirit! I so want to be loving and joyful and peaceful. Oh, to be patient and kind and good. And how wonderful it would be to be faithful and gentle and have self-control. All the time. To everyone.
Now I do pretty well with some of these. I do have God-given peace. And I’m fiercely faithful to my God and those I love. And I strive to find joy in every circumstance, as James taught (1:2).
But patience? I’ve struggled with that for years. As much as I surrender my life to God, I still want what I want when I want it … And self-control? I know I need to exercise. It’s a key component for keeping my chronic conditions somewhat under control. I know I need to eat well for the same reason. But do I exercise every day as I should? Do I diligently watch what I eat? No. Not always.
And then I have to ask myself: When others watch me, do they see anything different in me? Anything that attracts them to my Lord?
I pray that I’ll more and more be a shining light to others, that they’ll see the fruit of the Spirit in me. I pray God will give me patience and self-control. That I’ll be kind and good. And faithful. Always faithful to my heavenly Father.
And I pray the same for you.
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