A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog about the fruits of the spirit. When I initially decided to write that blog I had one goal in mind, to share a break through I received from the Lord. But as I wrote that blog it went in a totally different direction. I would still like to share and today I will do my best to stick to the point and hopefully this will help someone else as much as it has helped me.
I speak a lot about experiencing God and encounters with the Lord. Compared to my old life where I did not hear from the Lord at all, some may think that I am in constant communication with God but that is not the case. I often have these 'spells' where I am not hearing from Him at all. I know that God is always there with us but during these spells I feel like He is not there or really far away.
Sometimes my mind gets the best of me, but never for too long. When I feel this way, it always causes me to seek Him more. To go a little deeper into prayer. To spend more time reading His word. With the hope that He will respond to me, to give me a glimpse that He is still here with me. My desire is that He will confirm to me in some way that I am still on the right path.
You see, for me every response from God is reassurance that I am still on the straight and narrow path. I don't want to mess this thing up. My journey with Him is really important to me. And I don't want to be deceived. So I take everything to Him in prayer and I am constantly listening for His response.
A few weeks ago when I was feeling a bit disconnected, I went to the Lord in prayer. And what He told me, made me more confident in my walk with Him. His response came to me as a thought, in the form of a question.
"Are the fruits of the spirit evident in your life?"
I began to think...peace, love , joy. longsuffering... and my answer was yes to each one. I began to cry because I knew in that moment that He was with me. He is always with me even when I don't hear from Him. Even when I can't see Him moving in my life. The evidence was there the whole time. The fruits of the spirit is proof that God is there. That His Holy Spirit is still with you.
So now if and when I feel a little disconnected I still talk to Him about it but I look for the evidence. I look for the fruits of the spirit in my life.
Galatians 5:22-23 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
John 13:34 34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Acts 13:52 52And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
Romans 8:6-8 King James Version (KJV) 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
2 Corinthians 6:6 6By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
additional verses from KJV Bible
2 Tim 2 24
Gal 6 10
Gal 3 11
2 Cor 10 1
Titus 2 2