What if you could experience them all?
All nine fruits grow as we walk in the Spirit.
Because only the Holy Spirit can produce them.
They are not gifted to believers as the gifts of the Spirit are.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
(Galatians 5:22–23a NKJV)
These fruits of the Spirit are our godly character.
This was the last question in our Bible Study group this past week: How have you experienced His fruit and the world’s opposition as you have remained in Christ?
First, let me tell you soft, gentle words about God’s love didn’t save me, but a hell-fire and brimstone preacher in a Southern Baptist church at thirteen scared me out of hell.
A few years later, after many bad decisions and wrong choices, I learned of the love I desperately needed.
Now, at seventy-five, I have many memories to draw on.
So, this is how I answered the question.
I experienced His love when he healed me the night before I was Baptized in the Holy Spirit. That is when my life started to be transformed.
Suddenly, I had peace. I stopped hitting my son. Yes, I was abused, and I turned abuser. It was what I knew. It is passed down in families. That curse no longer has a grip on my family.
I found a Father who accepted and loved me.
Then, I found the key to even greater peace and joy — Forgiveness.
Forgiveness sets things right with God.
You do not have to face your abuser to forgive them. Hanging on to anger and hate will only cause bitterness to eat you up. I have a simple prayer for this, and I‘ll send it to you free of charge. Leave a request in the comments.
Love and goodness:
As the Holy Spirit worked to heal my scars from childhood abuse and rejection, my anger and bitterness left space for God to fill me with love and goodness.
Peace and goodness:
At fifty-five, I experienced so much kindness and goodness when I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I had a sense of peace no one could understand.
I got the news from my doctor on Friday afternoon. My husband and I met with the urologist on Monday and had my kidney out on Thursday of the same week. The tumor was the first stage of cancer and contained within the kidney. By the way, the tumor was an incidental find on an MRI for a back issue. That is God’s goodness.
Letting go and letting God:
You have probably heard, let go and let God handle your burden.
Well, a few years later, this is what happened. It had been thirty-nine years since I gave up my son, and I prayed to release the stronghold of searching for him. Here is part of my prayer, “Lord, it looks like it isn’t your will for me to see him in this lifetime, so be it. I will see him when I get to heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” I felt it lift off me; I felt lighter and more peaceful.
The next day, I had a phone call saying my son was looking for me. I rode a roller coaster of emotions, joy mixed with memories of the agony of giving my baby up all those years ago; tears were my constant companion. On the Sunday we were to meet. I asked God, why? After thirty-nine years, why was I getting to meet my son and see his face?
Faithfulness was His answer.
Yes, our God is Faithful; he fulfills His promises and keeps His covenants.
The last fruit is self-control, and I am still a work in process. But the Southern hissy-fits I was plagued with since childhood are a thing of the past.
And what about the world’s opposition? I have some family that I call pre-Christian and some who are afraid to discuss the Holy Spirit and His work in the world now.
In conclusion,
If you aren’t experiencing the fruit of the Spirit, follow Paul’s directions in Galatians chapter five. (see below) and your fruit will develop. Give yourself time with the Holy Spirit, and remember to be still and listen, then obey.
Walking in the Spirit:
I say then; walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lust against the the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
But if you are lead by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
(Galatians 5:16–18 NKJV)
