Just how did we drive the car over the parking curb? The vehicle was wedged in so tightly that we could not clear the barrier. Yes, I confess I was the driver on that little side trip in Florida. We made a wrong turn. I chose to stop at a tiny parking lot next to the shore so we could get our bearings. Concentrating more on the map than parking the car, I pulled in too far and drove right over the curb. Stuck good and tight. Repeatedly, I tried alternately putting the car into drive and reverse, but made no headway.
THE SEASONS OF NO HEADWAY
There are seasons of my life in which I have become stuck, unable to make headway. The fruits of the Spirit are meant to propel me forward: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. However, my fruit withers on the vine. Because of my rotten judgment, I become stuck, wedged on a spiritual curb.
TOSS OUT THE TRASH
This is not God’s ideal plan for believers. There is an antidote for getting stuck: tossing in the trash the excess weight of sin. For example, one can’t be faithful to God (a fruit of the Spirit) and also sexually immoral at the same time. It is impossible to continue in impurity and indecent behavior if self-control and goodness are the filters for our minds. Idolatry and witchcraft go down the tubes if one first loves God above all else. Hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, and selfish ambition are not even on the table if love, patience, kindness, and self-control are our first response to pain. I can’t sustain a fit of rage if the Holy Spirit is controlling the words that come out of my mouth.
WHAT DOES THE SPIRIT LIFE LOOK LIKE
What does a Spirit controlled life look like? Have you ever noticed in the Gospels that Jesus didn’t waste His time going around screaming at the Roman soldiers? Christ didn’t throw that first stone at the woman caught in adultery. Never did He move away from the dinner table when the tax collectors sat next to Him. He even loved His disciples when they were at odds with each other over who would be first in the Kingdom of God. Jesus lived in an unlovable world. The words that come out of His mouth and His behaviors are all fruits of the Spirit. Every single last one…
TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF THE WHEEL
Is it possible for believers to live this way? What exactly are the good fruits? Galatians 5:22-23:But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Amplified Version) How do we live such a way? By the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Choosing to take our hands off our spiritual steering wheels.
Has your spiritual life gotten stuck? Maybe you don’t know how you ended up there, but you desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit to lift you out of that pit of deed of the flesh. What’s the solution? Confess it, turn away from it, and ask the Holy Spirit for directions on how to live. Since I have a God who got a rental car eventually unstuck from a parking curb in Florida, I know that we have a God Who can steer us safely into living holy lives.
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