Day 1 | The Fruits of the Spirit

We hear it every day.  

It's reinforced a million different ways. 

As women we're to live under no one’s control.

We're independent, strong and productive – all on our own. We don’t need anyone to tell us what to do and we certainly don’t want to be perceived as weak and dependent.

We can juggle our jobs, our families, and our friends.

We venture into more social commitments than we can count, all the while modeling for those watching us that busy is synonymous with important.  successful.  accomplished.  

We take on committees, teaching a class at church, music, girls nights, we may even go back to school or sign up for yoga 3 times a week.  These are all important, right? 

Maybe it's doing things for others - like taking on an extra shift at work for a friend who is overloaded.  We have this notion that it makes us more attractive when we can make our own decisions, not constrained by anyone’s opinion or control.  And it only gets worse as we get older.

In fact, ‘dependent’ and ‘controlled’ is exactly what we’re called to be.

Not weak. Not pathetic.

Just meek. 

And above all, obedient.

We are never more like Christ than when we allow ourselves to be totally controlled by God, completely ruled by His hand. Only then do we produce things that are pleasing to Him. And it's not always easy.

How interesting that when all is said and done, we actually like ourselves best when we are in this ‘condition’ …this active pursuit of being under His control.

Galatians 5:22-23a (tlb) says, “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”

These beautiful traits we want so desperately to be a part of our lives ONLY come as a result of our total submission to His control. They come after we’re obedient to Him. What pleases God is not how many committees we’re on, how busy our calendars look, or our long hours at the office. 

He's definitely not concerned with what you're wearing today. What matters to God is how patient we are with our children behind closed doors, how genuinely kind we are to the people we work with, and if we do the right thing when no one else is looking.

Do we have self-control in all areas of our lives?

Every single area.  From what we talk about, to how much we eat, to the things we watch on TV.
That’s how God measures our beauty.  
Total submission.

So, take time to stop and think about where you are on this path to pleasing Him.

Give yourself a chance to develop these fruits and document your progress. It’s encouragement for you and it will allow those after you to know that as strong and independent as you are, you made the conscious choice to be under someone else's control…and that “someone” is a loving God who has a far greater plan than you could ever create on your own. A God who makes you a beautiful woman.

My hope is that this study will give you a guide to nourish the evidence of God’s control in your life.

The fruit.

May you begin to see the changes He's making in your life through your own reading and practice.  The ironic thing is, allowing His control makes us stronger and more beautiful, which is what we were striving for anyway.

It's what we've wanted all along.