Galatians 5: 16” Walk in the Spirit”
The fruit of the spirit you manifest most, demonstrates who is controlling you!
Galatians 5: 22-23
God’s Spirit The Destroyer’s
Love Self-first
Joy Self-pity
Peace Discord
Patience Anger
Kindness Rude
Goodness Disobedience
Faith Unbelief
Gentleness/Humility Pride
Christ-Control Sin-control
Galatians 5:16 is a command…” (You) walk in the Spirit”.
Ephesians 5:18 is also a command … “(You) be filled with the Spirit”.
How would you characterize your walk with God?
Do you live in “up and down” defeat or consistent upward victory?
“God commands us to be filled with the Spirit; and if we aren’t filled, it’s because we are living beneath our privilege!” (D.L. Moody) It is important to God that we understand how to walk with Him or He would not have given such direct and clear commands. The understood “YOU” in these commands places the responsibility on us to do our part. The provision to walk in the Spirit has been given. We either have all of the fruit or none of the fruit of the spirit! “Fruit” is singular”, not plural “fruits”. Gal. 5:22
We are making decisions continually in our daily walk through life. Our choices determine our Christian walk. The “What Now” or point of decision at the Y in the road is a moment-by-moment choice. We either choose the destroyer and sin and lead a defeated life or we choose the fruit of the Spirit and the joyful Christian life, receiving all that is ours in Him. (Galatians 5:19-21)
Our choice in that moment of decision determines our course and puts one of the two Spirits in control of us! We cannot serve two masters!
Whose Spirit has control of your life right this minute??
Years ago, when considering the choice at the fork in the road of my Christian life, my husband asked,
“Jackie, what is the purpose of joy?”
What? What do you mean?...
I thought it was a really good question and answered, “let me think about it a moment.” Without that moment’s hesitation, he proceeded to go through each of the fruit with its purpose and to my amazement I found it gave new meaning to the command to maintain my “walk in the Spirit!!”
This is what I learned that day and continue to learn daily:
Love is for others first! “If we loved our neighbor as we love ourselves” we would have no need for any of the other fruit! (Gal.5: 14)… But we don’t!
Joy is the reward for giving love away; the spontaneous enthusiasm of my spirit when my soul is obedient to God’s instruction. (Psa. 16:11)
Peace is the absence of turmoil; it maintains harmony with God and man.
Patience is what makes accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it… doable! (Rom.5: 3-4)
Meekness puts my energy under God’s control, when I yield my personal entitlements, rights and expectations to Him. (Psa. 62:5)
Kindness is a gift to another to show the person’s worth. (Jn. 3:16)
Faith is the absence of doubt; facing fear and turning it into a God-given desire. (Pro. 10:24)
Goodness is given so others can trust Him in us. His integrity and virtue.
Gentleness is magnified in the presence of pride. It repels arrogance.
Christ-control is instant obedience to the initial promptings of God’s Spirit. (Gal. 5:24,25)
The absence of any of these in my daily walk is a signal to me. If I am impatient, unkind, worried, fearful, and angry or in turmoil, I know I have made a wrong choice at the point of decision. Somewhere I sacrificed my fellowship with God! I go back, acknowledge my wrong response or decision, confess it by name and regain my peace and all the other fruit that comes with it!
How careful are you in your decision-making process?
Do you guard your responses?
Little “decision-making” children are watching and learning!
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
