Each week, we have explored one of the fruit of the spirit. The first three, love, joy and peace are inward traits. They are the feelings you have within. Nobody can take them away from you. You have full control over those feelings. I am not saying that it is easy in some circumstances, but with the Holy Spirit working within you, they are always possible.
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
Patience is the next fruit in the passage. You have probably heard the phrase; Patience is a virtue. This past year, with everything going on with Covid, we have really had to learn how to be patient. We like to be active and social but had to patiently wait at home until “the coast was clear” to start getting out in public again. We had to patiently wait for a vaccine to be produced and then, in the beginning, patiently wait in long lines to get the vaccine. As you could tell from the political bantering back and forth, some people did not have any patience.
We live in an environment where we strive for immediate gratification. Our increasing ability to instantly satisfy our wants may be taking away the blessing of learning how to wait. The Bible has many examples of why we should wait and be patient.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
We have talked about rejoicing (Joy) as one of the fruit of the Spirit. We gain peace through our communication (prayer) with God. The Holy Spirit is the great provider of all the fruit. We see how they all tie in together. It is that peace that God is in control, even in tribulations, that give us the peace and patience to wait it out. Wait until His will is fulfilled, and we reap the benefits.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
This is one of my favorite verses. I have witnessed others that have approached business with different values than I have applied in my career. I have been in the food service business for four decades. In several cases, I have seen them be successful (by society’s standards), while I have been disappointed by not making as much money or having a higher position. I did not have patience early in my career and paid the price along the way. I learned along the way (the hard way) that putting career above family and trying to get ahead quickly, without analyzing the costs, is a recipe for failure.
As I recommitted my loyalty to God to oversee my life and to truly believe in His will for me, a sense of peace came over me. This was in 2008. I have seen the fruit of the Spirit grow within me since then. I can honestly say that I live stress free. I think my “due season” has come and I am reaping the benefits of my faithfulness. My career took an unexpected turn in 2008 and I am loving my job more than ever. I give all the credit to God. I allowed Him to take over and shortly after that, a new position opened with my current employer taking me out of the traditional path up the corporate ladder and sent me down a different road utilizing other talents of mine.
Trust in the Lord. Open your communication with Him through prayer and let the Holy Spirit work within you. You will see the fruit develop within you and how it affects your surroundings and how you feel about your surroundings.
