The Fruit of The Spirit …updated 9-25-23
As Christians, life is sometimes hard and you are sometimes unable to finish your day as successfully as you would like. It is often hard not to respond in the wrong way, or method, or with the right attitude when one feels a sense of unfairness.
Someone yells at you at work for an error, or someone you love gets hung up on something you feel is unimportant. You are trying to do your best and be efficient and responsible. Life is sometimes unfair.
You Must Realize That There is a Roaring Lion, (devil, satan, tempter, serpent, father of lies, and more), seeking whom he may devour…
What to remember: You have an enemy that is always trying to lead you in the wrong direction for these kinds of events. Yes, the devil…he exists and he doesn’t like it if you are trying to live for Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Keeping calm is not always easy, praying for your emotions is essential. Praying for self-awareness is mandatory also.
It is the human in any individual to react to some of the issues of life that seem unfair, unkind, not of benefit to anyone, and without merit. That is why you must seek God for self-control in the spirit.
This is What The Bible States
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the life of a Christian.
The Little Foxes Spoil The Vine
So what are the little foxes that spoil the vine?
The little foxes are mixed in with emotions. How we react, how we show love regardless of what is said. They are also the wrong thoughts, the wrong things we say, and the wrong actions we take that hinder the fruit of the spirit and the growth of the branches. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches.
To put it simply; anything that is contrary to the Word of God can be a little fox. Have you ever heard someone say; “I can’t wait until they get what is coming to them;” “One day you will see them hurt like I have been hurt;” “They think they are above reproof;” or “I can’t stand to be around them?
More than likely; at some point in time within life most people have either thought or uttered one of these statements.” Yes, the truth sometimes hurts… As I write this…I confess…it takes prayer to overcome and demonstrate The Fruit of The Spirit.
From The Word-Revenge is Not An Asset For a Child of God
Caution: Too often when we are subjected to something we feel is unfair to us, we respond with a hurt heart, but…this is what Jesus said:
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans 12:19
In other words, we must let it go, and let God heal us…and He will. If we were to name more little foxes to go with revenge: hatefulness, being critical, judgmental, and jealousness. These too include all things that make us act unbecoming to a child of God.
Again, most of us have had to pray over at least one of these to get our spirit back to what God wants it to be.
When We Forget we must kneel for His mercy again…
I have heard the title of this article many times during my lifetime of being in the Church and hearing sermons. Sometimes we forget the little foxes. Let me say again: yes it is the human in us that must be conquered to reach our state of pleasing God.
We know what the scripture says is the fruit of the spirit, but we sometimes forget the smallest little ugly fox that creeps up and destroys our ability to grow in the Lord. Is it because we may be weak Christians, have not asked for wisdom from the Lord, prayed as we should, or looked within to see our faults?
If you are beginning your walk in Christ and lacking the true Fruit of the Spirit? It means that you must pray over your weaknesses, and make them your priority to conquer.
It would be awful to get to the judgment seat of God and expect that we are going to have the Lord give us a pat on the back. Waiting for a welcome home, thou good and faithful servant; then find out He has some questions regarding our lack of the fruit of the spirit, and what caused us to be lacking.
We Must Remember Our Call From God as the Scripture Declares
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”John 15:235
“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”John 15:2
“All of our fruit of the spirit; makes one glorious living tree.” First the blooms, and then the fruit!
Linda, Thank you so much for sharing with us at Sitting Among Friends on Wednesdays. Blogging can be very difficult. The time it takes can be quite consuming. Don't be discouraged. God will use what He chooses to use. It sometimes seems insignificant to us but to God it can be the difference of eternity for someone. Keep writing and keep pressing on for the Lord. I have never actually heard the story of the foxes. I really enjoyed hearing how it compared to the sins that creep in and destroy the fruit. Many blessings and I will look forward to seeing posts in the future.
Thank you Jaime. So glad you paid us a visit. I love your website also.