Juicy Fruit

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galations 5:22-23

A couple years ago, I heard a great sermon on being "Juicy Fruit." The basic premise of the series was that life is going to squeeze you at times... and what will the world see when it does? Then the pastor talked about the fruit of the Spirit and how this is what we are to ooze, especially under pressure. I began praying the fruit of the Spirit over my oldest son, but every time I would get to the "self-control," I would cringe. Self-control is definitely an area that God is still working on in my life!

Going back to the basics of the fruit of the Spirit, these are things that should be in us simply based on the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in us. While we may not have joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. on our own, the Holy Spirit produces all of them. If we are truly living by the Spirit, then these things should be evident in our lives. And not just some of them...all of them. If we are cultivating the fruit of the Spirit by allowing the Son to shed His light in our lives, putting the fertile soil of God's Word as the foundation of our being and allowing the Holy Spirit to impart its living water, we should see amazing results. Again, it's not necessarily on our own strength but by the very nature of God's Holy Spirit at work in our lives.

I look at that word self-control and I shake my head, thinking that I want "God-control." And the Lord does desire for us to bow our lives before His throne. But, He also gives us free choice and free will. He wants us to choose Him back, and He allows us to go through situations to refine our character. He asks us to have self-control when it comes to things like eating better, exercising more, saying no to unhealthy options, speaking with forethought, ridding our lives of sin, etc.

And if we're looking for more self-control, then where else should we turn but to the Holy Spirit?

Lord, we all need more self-control in our lives. While we want You to have full reign over us, we know that You have given us free will and desire for us to make good choices throughout our lives on earth that glorify You. We thank You that Your Holy Spirit produces this fruit in our lives. While we need all of the fruit of the Spirit, in this particular struggle, we ask for an overflowing of self-control. Holy Spirit, be our reminders. Give us that nudge...make known the Lord's will for us. We thank You and praise You for the work that You do within us. When life is squeezing us, we pray that we would exemplify "Juicy Fruit." In Jesus' name, AMEN!