Deliberate: Week 2 - Tuesday

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23

Yesterday, in our Bible study together, we talked about producing good fruit that pleases God and points others to Him. Producing this kind of fruit is no easy feat! The good news, however, is that we are not alone. You see, when we give our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit develops spiritual fruit in us that makes us more like Christ. As this fruit develops in us, we become more like Him and represent Him to the world around us.

Paul talked about the spiritual fruit that Christ develops in us in Galatians 5. He explained in this passage of Scripture that without Christ, we are left to our sinful nature, which includes immorality, lust, idolatry, selfishness, jealousy, anger, and more (verses 19-21). For those who are followers of Christ, however, the Holy Spirit leads us away from this sinful nature, Paul taught. He wrote, "The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (verses 22-23). These are all character traits that may not be second nature. It is not always second nature to love people who are difficult to love. Joy, patience, kindness, and self-control are not always the first characteristics that well up in us when life is difficult. The Holy Spirit, however, develops these characteristics in us. The Holy Spirit takes impatient people and gives them patience, gives supernatural peace to Christ followers in times of anxiety, and fills Christ followers with the joy of the Lord. The Spirit helps us live the kind of fruitful lives that Christ calls His followers to live.

We are certainly not left alone in our quest to grow spiritually. As we grow in our faith and our relationships with Christ, the Holy Spirit will make us more like Christ. As we grow, we will become more joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and controlled. What a gift the Holy Spirit is as we seek to grow in our faith!

Moving Toward Action

Look back at Galatians 5:22-23. Which of the fruits of the Spirit listed in these verses would you like to grow in? After you have chosen which fruit of the Spirit you would like to grow in, pray. Ask God to help develop that fruit of the Spirit in you. Ask Him to give you opportunities today to grow in that area.

Going Deeper

Galatians 5:1-2