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The Devotional Diva - Don’t Mess With My Fruit
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The Devotional Diva - Don’t Mess With My Fruit
By Barbara Gobbs
Executive Assistant and Ministry Partner - Pocket Full of Change Ministries
“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
Have you ever watched someone in the produce department of a market pick out fruit? They inspect every inch of the desire object’s surface. They smell the peaches and thump the melons. You just can’t pick out fruit without messing with it.
I guess that works in the grocery store.
Recently, a friend and I attended a writing class together. We had a very interesting time. We also had interesting conversation on the way to and from the event. The time was used to compare notes since we last spoke. Actually, we sat and compared miseries.
We’ve both had mother-in-law issues. Her mom-in-law is very ill and mine went to be with the Lord. Like everyone else, we are concerned with finances and job situations. Bottom line, we are full-plated women and full plates provide a breeding ground for tension and stress. Well, they say misery loves company, so for a few moments we commiserated together.
The good thing about having not only faithful friends, but also friends in the faith – those moments is short lived. Why? Because we know that you can only live in misery for so long, before the pull of the Father becomes so strong that you can, you must obey and return to the light!
Our conversation quickly turned to how God had worked in our hearts to lift the fog of doubt, hurt and concern from the past week. Cheryle and I were both feeling much better. Our spirits were lifted. This short season of darkness had passed.
Cheryle was resolute in her joy. She was determined her joy wasn’t going anywhere after prior days experience. In fact, as she drove home from an earlier business engagement earlier, she phoned ahead to her husband. She informed him that if anything was going on there that would dampen her fruit – she wasn’t coming home! She told me she didn’t want anyone messing with her fruit!
After getting a good laugh, we realized a great truth in that statement. When the stresses and strains of life swoop upon us, it messes with our fruit. Drama squeezes at your joy and thumps at your love and peace.
This weekend in Bible study, I was reminded – once again - of a Biblical fact. When feeling fruitless, there is little I can do to restore that fruity feeling. I am incapable. That job belongs to God and the Holy Spirit. You see, love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness aren’t called fruit of the self. They are not fruit of feeling good and right with the world. They are, however, the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit.
In the life of a believer, it is paramount to live DAILY under the leadership and control of the Holy Spirit. He is our power source, our intercessor and ultimate producer of fruit in our lives. I cannot stress this enough. When we submit ourselves to Him, He fills us and empowers us and the fruit is a natural outpouring of our filling!
Sadly – I remain humanly human. I am a fragile creature at best and some days, I assume I’ve given myself over to the Spirit. Perhaps, I feel like I’ve accumulated enough from the previous day of reading, prayer and praise presuming I can coast on Spiritual residue. Can anyone relate or is it just me? Yet, God continues to teach me, lead me and yes, He brings me back in position to allow the Spirit to do His job.
So how is your fruit doing these days? Feeling a bit fruitless? A bit squeezed or thumped? I have an idea! Let’s all yell at the forces predetermined to thump and squeeze us today, “Don’t mess with my fruit!”
The only way we can do this effectively is to surrender! Surrender up to the Holy Spirit, let Him take the wheel of our lives – admit we are not capable of bearing fruit apart from the Father. I believe Jesus said in the Book of John that even HE could do nothing apart from the Father. I think that goes double for us!
So simply surrender and let the Spirit step up. After that, sit back and watch the fruit grow.
Feeling Fruity!
Barbara
Barbara Gobbs is a ministry partner with and the Executive Assistant of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to request a newsletter, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden, Publicist at 904 316-5462. This ministry is supported by donations. If this ministry helps you or others, and God calls you to help support this work, you can make a donation to Pocket Full of Change Ministry at POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240.
© Pocket Full of Change Ministries
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