SCRIPTURE: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
THOUGHT: Surrender can be a tough spiritual concept to grasp. It’s not like we suddenly stop being volitional humans. Rather, we begin a careful weaving between what part of action is ours and what part God’s. We don’t so much give up our free will as seek to bring it under the control of God’s greater will.
To study fruitfulness is to study surrender.
Probably like some of you, I memorized Galatians 5:22-23 as a child. Those fruit were the good things I should pursue. If I was going to be a Christian, they painted a perfect still life of what I was going to look like – a beautiful bowl of fruit, lit by an otherworldly sunray. So, I went about being loving, joyful, full of peace, demonstrating the patience of Job, and, well, you get the picture. Only instead of getting more “perfect,” I actually got a little fruity. My beautiful still life slowly turned into a wreck. I didn’t understand that producing a fruitful life was something I needed to rely on someone else for. I needed to cooperate, to co-author with the triune God.
Then, it felt like a hard surrender – an almost bitter need to trust someone besides me, an admission of defeat. Now, I have to admit, it feels like relief. It’s not all about me after all. And co-authoring with God? Wow, that’s the kind of offer every writer dreams of.
Can the charcoal sketch require the hand to change its lines
Can the empty land command the architect’s design
Can the clay pot on the wheel demand its size and shape
Can the vineyard tell the farmer which fruit he can or cannot takeSo I submit myself to Your perfect will
Amy Clemens “FRUITFUL” 6/12/12
Though I’ll feel the cut of your pruning, still
Even more than what I want
I want what You think beautiful
So make me fruitful
PRAYER: Oh God, I want what you think beautiful, so make me fruitful.
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ABOUT ME:
Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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