Seeking...The Holy Spirit Within

Seeking...The Holy Spirit Within... Galatians 5:22-23

Patricia Ann, Originally posted Thursday, February 03, 2011

Galatians 5:22–23 (NIV84) 
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Everywhere we look in todays world, we meet people who are seeking. 
Some of us seek love, only to find ourselves in one broken relationship after another year after year. 
Some of us seek joy, but we are never able to really feel the happiness inside that we see in others .
Many more of  us are looking for  peace in a world filled with chaos, pain and destruction, but the peace seems to be continually elusive.
For many of us, patience is needed in our everyday relationships, but it is often overcome with bitterness and anger. 
Kindness is sought after, but doesn't always come. We seek it, but we don't know how to be accepting of it.  
How often we seek goodness in others, but don't recognize our own need for being good. 
We seek faithfulness in todays world, but it is often hard to come by, as we are encouraged to rely on ourselves for everything we need.
Gentleness is needed in this world, but so many of us are treated roughly as children or adults, subjected to some form of abuse. We never experience the gentleness that we inwardly long for, as we retreat into ourselves or seek to self medicate in drugs or alcohol.  
Self control  in todays world -- seems to be something that we long for, but do not seek. It is "fun" let go and  to lose control  and live for the moment.  Or is it??
So many of us are never able to find fulfillment in this world, --but inside we secretly seek to become fulfilled and to experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit. 
How do we do this??
When the Holy Spirit is allowed to be at home in a child of God, that person will start taking on the characteristics described as the "fruit" of the Spirit.
He or she will begin to experience love, as never experienced before.  It will be a deep love for all people -- not like the romantic love that was previously searched for in order to fulfill an inner emptiness. Your search for love will be fulfilled.
The joy, once sought after will be abundant deeply inside your heart -- indwelled by the Holy Spirit.  It will keep your heart joyful, despite trials that will come your way.
The peace that once seemed so elusive will find a home in your heart.  It will become a part of who are and how your are -- you will be perceived as a peaceful person.

Bitterness and anger will be overcome with patience, as your heart is stilled and the Holy Spirit comforts you in all situations.
The act of kindness will become a part of your daily life, as you become able to give to and receive the kindness offered by others.
You will find the goodness of Our Lord reflected in all that you do and see in this world. His plan for each of us includes goodness.
Your faithfulness will be unto God instead of looking for faithfulness in this world.  Only faith in God will see us through the trials we face in life. (Psalms 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people).
The gentleness we have sought from the hand of mankind, will become a gentleness provided by the Holy Spirit.
We can go on to give this same gentleness to others we meet -- those who are still seeking the "fruits of the Spirit" in their own life. 
Self control will become easier as we walk each day for the Lord, learning that the ways of this world only contribute to the chaos of daily living. 
When we relinquish control to God, the Holy Spirit is allowed to come in and fill us up inside.
This creates within each of us the ability to live our lives in a new and different way.
It's all part of His plan for us to live abundantly experiencing the "fruits" of the Spirit -- indwelled from inside, with a comfort and knowledge that we are One with our God -- filled with His love, His joy, His patience, His kindness, His goodness, His faithfulness, His gentleness, and Self control that only comes from Him. 
This change is not automatic or instant, as we have to choose to allow the Holy Spirit into our hearts in order to receive the gifts that God has to offer each of us as His children.
 
We do not have to live our lives as broken children in a broken world.
But when we make the choice to honestly open ourselves up to our Creator, our Father in Heaven, we can begin to live a new life with a new outlook and a new lease on life. 
 
I will always remember the day I accepted Jesus as my Savior.  I was very young -- 8 years old.  I also remember the day of my baptism -- on a cold day in March in the Illinois river. Brrrr!  It was cold! 
I remember living my life as a teenager and young adult. I felt I was saved, but I really had not ever totally given myself to God -- not until my heart was ready -- not until I came to the honest realization that I am not in control.
 
Just like many of you today, I lived with an inner sense of longing -- longing for something more, someone to love me, peace in my life, wanting to be cherished, held, cared for, treated with kindness, goodness, and recognition in my family.
I sought for an inner joy, a fulfillment of my soul, but it eluded me -- clouded every day by the workings of the world around me. 
I could feel God tugging at my heart, but I was unwilling to let go, felt I was not good enough to do His work and I suppose I was just afraid of what I would become if I gave my life totally to God.  I was looking good --attending church and was a "good person" ,
but I wasn't relinquishing myself to God's will for me until life just got to be too much to handle on my own. 
After a series of negative events in my life,
I finally said "God, I hear you calling me."
I remember the day I stood up with my arms stretched upward to heaven and cried out with tears streaming down my cheeks, "God, I give my life to you,. I will do whatever you want me to.  I cannot live my life alone and I accept your will for me, whatever it is.  I will do your work from this day forward."   
 
And that is the day that my life truly began.  That is the day my transformation began and the fruits of the spirit came alive within me. 
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is nothing short of AWESOME and there are really no earthly words to describe the feeling of being one with God. 
It is not a word, but an action  -- fulfilling and equipping the children of God for a life eternally with our Father in Heaven.
You see, it doesn't matter how old you are, or what you have done or believed, or even what has been done to you. 
 
What matters is You!
What matters is your choice to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.
It is our choice in life to choose a relationship with One who fulfills each and every desire we long to have fulfilled
or to seek the fulfillment of many on this earth who will undoubtedly "let us down"  --
It is not in humanity's making to fulfill desires, but instead to become fulfilled by Our God and the Holy spirit within. 
Even as we are always 'under construction' in our daily lives,  The Holy Spirit never leaves God's children and is always working to create in us His spirit of goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As Jesus says "...Against such things there is no law."
 
 
My prayer for today is for everyone to come to know "The Fruits of the Spirit", by the indwelling action of the Holy Spirit within. And for that action to go on to touch the lives of everyone you meet today and tomorrow and all the days of our lives, creating a chain reaction of the Glory of God everywhere we go.  In Jesus Holy name, Amen!