How we act matters

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. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites. (Galatians 5:22-24 AMP)

The result of God's presence within us is always going to produce 'fruit' that is different than the way we were living prior to saying yes to Jesus. The sinful nature (with all of its passions and appetites) need no longer control the way we live. The choices we make each and every day are the result of the 'new fruit' that is being produced within.

One of the 'fruits' that popped out at me this morning while reading through this passage was PATIENCE. I put that in all-caps because we often pray for it like it is an emergency situation rather than one that we prepare for well in advance of us ever needing it. I like how the Amplified Bible translates it with the little extra explanations in parenthesis. "Not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting". Our attitude in the waiting is what's in focus here, not that we have to wait, or that we want to wait, but how we act while waiting.

As I have frequently commented over the years, one of the hardest things I have to do is wait. I like to get in there, get 'er done, and get out. I don't lollygag around. Waiting on God's timing has revealed to me that my attitude of needing to be in control every step of the way is what makes me so impatient with his timing. I want to 'get 'er done'! He wants me to allow him to get "HER" done! In other words, he wants me to allow him to work on my attitude and need to be in control.

Our attitude reflects both our level of trust and our level of release. When we trust the one who is leading, we release ourselves to those plans and that path. When we hold so tightly to the reins of our life, we find following the leadership of Christ is much more difficult than it should be. All of us have the ability to wait on his timing, but some of us act like we don't trust him fully with what is about to occur. When we finally get to the point of releasing our control, we might just find that what we held onto so tightly wasn't really all that reliable. Because we are in Christ Jesus and he is in us, we can be totally confident in the waiting without needing to be in control through it. Just sayin!