When you invited God and Jesus into your heart, you became a new creature in Christ, with a new re-created spirit. All the fruit of the Spirit was deposited in you as part of that. Galatians 5:22 lists the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, long-suffering or patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are now our truth!
Yet we still live “in this world,” even though no longer “of it.” Our enemy, Satan, will use circumstances to get us to deny the truth within us and draw us back into believing the opposite. Impatient, or lacking patience. Unloving, or lacking in love, etc. Since we experience these as attitudes, moods, and feelings, and very real, we may regret some of what we are experiencing but not recognize the lie and deception involved. We likely do not understand that we have a choice, and are being drawn away from our spiritual truth and experiencing of living in the Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God, and drawn back into “this world” thinking, believing, and experiencing.
Let me share a wonderful example and lesson God showed me about this. A number of years ago, I was painting my living room. Now normally that is an easy task for me. I am good at that sort of thing. But the process was not going well for some reason, and I was feeling more and more frustrated and impatient with it. Feeling helpless to change anything, I finally called my husband at work and asked him to pray for me. Returning to my task after that short break, the Holy Spirit spoke to me with this word: “You are not lacking in patience. You are just not USING it! “ What a revelation that was! I had been in denial of what God had deposited in me! A simple “shift” back into His Kingdom and Truth, and all went well after that.
What I learned from that experience and “word” included that whenever I was not feeling any love, my attitude was not loving, or it felt absent within me, I could turn and shift to GOD’s love available in me and “use” HIS! ALL of the fruit of the Spirit are spiritual forces provided by God, given for our USE and benefit, and for His Kingdom and Glory! When one of those fruit seems absent, and you notice you are experiencing something contrary, that is the time to be wise to the evil lies and deceits of our enemy, and “shift” back over into Truth and God’s Kingdom. Walk not according to external circumstances interpreted and distorted by the flesh, “world” and enemy, but by God’s Truth and deposited Fruit.
One of my favorite Scripture verses is Philemon 1:6 in KJV.(italics, mine)
“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
What an important principle that is! I pray you profit from awareness of it!
Carole Robinson
A God Listener
01/06/2016
Very true! It's one thing to have the reality, something else to recognize it and use it! We HAVE to use our faith!
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