Day 23 – March 31
Which characteristic in the fruit of the Spirit do you want more of?
Have you ever seen orchards of cherry trees or apple trees in bloom? Beautiful. It’s a sign of coming fruit. The spring sun begins to soak into the branches and leaves with the light it needs. Spring showers saturate the ground, and tree roots collect the nutrients from the soil. Slowly fruit begins to grow. The tree does not produce more or different fruit then it is designed to. Its DNA is wired to absorb sun, water, and the nutrients of that environment and, using them, to produce good fruit – the agricultural blessing that sustains life of the people around the tree. A mature tree in a great environment yields a bountiful harvest of fruit. This is like the fruit of God's Spirit in us. As we continually expose ourselves to the presence of God, HE produces good fruit in us, and that fruit blesses those around us.
In this season of Lent, let us look at the environment around us. What fruit is our environment producing in us?
Maybe your full evenings dry up the patience that the Spirit produces in you after your morning devotional time. Maybe you hope to the Spirit will grow more peace in your life. However, instead of spending time in God’s presence, you spend time distracting or numbing yourself with technology (social media scrolling, tv and streaming, gaming). You notice your anxieties seem much bigger and harder to handle and peace seems far away.
We want to invite you to think about the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Now, consider picking one or two characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit that you want more of. Try to observe what about your current rhythms might be leading to this aspect of God's fruit being blocked or restricted in certain circumstances or with certain people. Allow the Lord to convict you – to put his awareness around this on your heart and mind. Then ask and listen for the Spirit’s direction - what might need to change in your life for you to become more like God each day.
Day 24 – April 1
How do you recognize God’s presence in your daily life?
