This week the Fruit of the Spirit we are examining is patience. It’s rather ironic that no one had signed up for the Tuesday edition… I guess we are all out of patience from the craziness of this past year. But there are still some things to be acquired in our walk, and patience is never one that we can have too much of.

Some might say, “don’t ask God for patience, he’ll give you the application to learn it first. You won’t like that!” Perhaps that is true, but in reality, all the Fruit of the Spirit we acquire is not so much a gift, but rather it is grown. It is not just handed to us when we need it, rather it is something we seek when we need it, and the Holy Spirit helps us along in it. If we never needed it, we would never display it.

Much like a fruit tree that does not say, “give me some fruit,” but rather, the fruit occurs because it honors the DNA that was put into it. That DNA declares that “if you want fruit, then produce fruit! I will help you by what I have put into you.” We have a spiritual DNA that allows us to produce fruit when we stick to the Holy Spirit. Then there is rain, and soil, and snow… all of which contribute to the fruit. None of those elements by themselves are particularly attractive, but together they create the challenging conditions for a tree to want to create fruit.

So the next time you need patience, or any other fruit, be aware that the Holy Spirit will help you… and it won’t happen by gifting nearly as much as it happens by application, and effort. And that is good!

Blessings!
Pastor Steve Sherwood