Christian Practice - Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience (Galatians 5)

Reading through Galatians 5, this centering prayer will allow God to uncover and reveal deeper truths to you. The fruit of the spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So often we breeze through this "list" of attributes available to us through the holy spirit. Today, please join Bethany as she walks us through each virtue, and enjoy time to pause and reflect on each word, strengthening your connection to the Holy Spirit.

Transcript

Hello friend,

Thank you for joining me today.

I'm looking forward to reading some truth about the Holy Spirit.

And the fruit that we as Christians,

As followers of Christ,

Can and will bear when we follow Him,

When we are more entwined with Him,

When we say we abide in Him,

He abides in us as well.

Let's first read,

Keeping in Step with the Spirit,

In Galatians 5.

But I say,

Walk by the Spirit,

And you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Now in Galatians 5,

Paul,

The author,

Reminds us the contrast between the Spirit and the desires of the flesh.

And when we walk by the Spirit,

It's impossible for us to gratify the desires of the flesh.

So,

As Paul says,

If we are led by the Spirit,

We are not under the law.

And when we walk by the Spirit,

We will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit,

And the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.

For they are opposed to each other.

But there's hope,

And here is where the fruit of the Spirit comes in.

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.

So if we live by the Spirit,

Let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Today,

Let us focus on the fruit of the Spirit and take some time to really consider and imagine each characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit.

So if you aren't already,

Please close your eyes.

And let's take a few deep breaths together.

Inhale.

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And exhale.

Inhale.

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And exhale.

One more time.

Inhale.

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And exhale.

The first fruit of the Spirit is love.

Let's imagine the idea of love.

It can be love to God.

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And love to Christ.

It can be loving our neighbors.

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Loving our friends.

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Loving ourself.

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Loving the truths of the gospel.

Imagine the energy,

The openness,

The vibrancy of love.

What does love mean to you?

The next virtue of the Spirit is joy.

Joy stems from the Holy Spirit.

Joy is in the good of others.

Joy can be stirred up by a kind act done for you or done for someone else.

Joy can be found in the laughter that we share.

Think upon the idea of joy.

The things that bring you cheer.

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A rooted jubilee.

What makes you smile?

What makes you giggle?

What gives you a deep sense of joy?

The third virtue of the Holy Spirit is peace.

Peace that surpasses all understanding.

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Is a peace that only Jesus Christ can provide for us.

A peace that is given to us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

A peace that justifies our soul.

When we yield to the peace that is in Jesus.

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We experience a sense of calm.

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Of quietness.

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Of stillness in our soul.

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Of tranquility in our mind.

There's peace within and peace with others as well.

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As God continues the work of the Spirit in us.

And now the virtue of kindness.

Kindness is in your character.

Kindness can mean forgiving others.

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And bearing one another's burdens.

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Holding others up with a sense of humility.

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And humanity and gentleness.

Kindness can mean giving love.

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And sharing goodness.

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Showing a smile.

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And caring with a sense of tenderness.

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Imitating the gentleness of Jesus.

The next fruit of the Spirit is goodness.

Kindness can be a character within us.

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And it can also be an act towards others.

To be good to our world in nature.

To be good in our moral way of thinking.

To be good in the way that we treat others.

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And treat our own self.

And to think about what goodness means to you.

Goodness can mean a sense of wholeness.

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Harmony.

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Unity.

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And kindness.

Now the next fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness.

Faithfulness requires our thoughts.

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Our hearts and our actions.

We are to be faithful to God both in word and in deed.

It is a statement of belief.

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And it leads us to Jesus Christ.

We can encourage others in their faith through our testimony.

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Or we can be encouraged by others.

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When they share the fruit of the Spirit with us.

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When they share their belief in Jesus Christ.

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In his works,

In his ways.

What does faithfulness mean to you?

How do you show faithfulness to God.

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And to others who know and love him?

Let's think upon the gentleness of the Holy Spirit now.

Gentleness reminds me of the meekness of Christ.

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And even though he is as strong as a lion.

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He also emulates the characteristic of gentleness.

Jesus is a perfect example of walking humbly with God.

What does it look like to be gentle to yourself?

What does it look like to be gentle to others?

And what does it look like to be gentle in our spirit toward God?

And I just,

Right now the Holy Spirit is bringing up.

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And I just,

I have to pray about this right now.

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That you would please demolish our bitterness,

God.

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If we've been carrying a sense of anger towards you.

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Or hurt or misunderstanding.

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And we've directed it at you out of fear and out of pain.

I pray,

God,

That you would forgive us.

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And that you would understand,

God,

That we are just human.

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And we are wrestling with the hardships of life.

We are wrestling with the questions that have not been answered.

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And we lift up these questions to you,

God.

We lift up our bitterness to you.

Please,

Jesus,

We ask that you would heal us.

Heal us of our bitterness.

We don't want to carry it anymore.

Please,

God,

Lift this burden off of us.

Restore to us,

Jesus,

The faithfulness,

The hope.

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The fruit of the spirit that we once had.

We plead with you,

We ask you.

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Give us more of you,

Give us more of your spirit,

God.

If there has been any brokenness.

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With the fruit of the spirit that you have provided for us.

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That you grow in us.

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If the vine has stopped intertwining.

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If we've become dry and brittle.

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Please,

God,

Restore us,

Give us new life.

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Give us new energy,

Quench us.

We pray that we would grow from knowing you more.

Thank you,

God,

Please.

We accept what you want to give us.

And if there's any part of us that wants to turn away out of shame or guilt.

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You still run after us.

You still want to pour blessings over us.

You still want to shower us with your grace.

Thank you,

God.

Please help us accept your grace.

Please help us meditate more on the fruit of the spirit.

Thank you for letting me pray over you.

That was unplanned,

But I believe the Holy Spirit brought that up.

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And I wanted to pray that over you.

I'm not sure exactly what you're experiencing or what it is you're going through.

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But I know that God is with us even when we don't sense Him or feel Him or know Him.

But He knows us.

He will never forget your name.

He's written your name down in His book,

And He will never forget it.

In His mind,

It is written on His heart.

He knows your name.

He will not forget you.

There's one more fruit of the spirit,

And that is the fruit of self-control.

Maybe self-control means keeping a moderate lifestyle and not indulging too much.

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Or being too excessive or having too many things.

Let us have self-control in our spending habits,

Even in our exercise.

If we become obsessive with the gym or I know for myself,

I really,

Really love coffee.

So just having self-control in our demeanor,

Even if we are excited about going on a date.

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Or dating others,

Too much of a good thing is not a good thing anymore.

So let us have moderation in our lifestyle.

Just imagine right now,

What does self-control mean to you.

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And what area of your life do you need to have more self-control with?

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope that this has been a helpful way to meditate on the fruit of the spirit.

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Without just passing over each virtue,

But really diving deep into their meaning.

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And how God wants to surface and bring to you what He wants you to focus on.

And I just pray that you will come back and listen to this.

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Whenever you need to be centered again in the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

And I know that He is working these things out in you.

He is working these things out in your salvation.

It takes action on our part,

But He is also at work in us.

He is also taking action to churn and filter and renew us like a garden.

He is toiling the soil so that new growth can come in every day.

And I just pray that God would be with you as you meditate on the fruit of the Spirit.

And I thank you so much for joining me today.

God bless.

God Bless.

God Bless.

God Bless.

Reviews

Life has been brutal these past few years. All my close friends have chosen different faiths save for a few. There has been nothing but pain. I’ve struggled in finding a church home since Covid and it feels as though I’ve been living the scraps of memories of times lost.
Thank you for making this guided meditation. I’m at the point where opening my Bible is difficult. I feel like I’ve lost so much of myself.
This meditation was the equivilant of physical therapy; messy and weak but steps toward healing.

I wish I could give more than words. Thank you.

I’m so pleased that I could listen to the word of God on this app. I highly recommend this Christian teacher🙏✨ Everybody needs to know the fruits of the spirit💯

Amazzzzzing 🙏🏻🤗🌺
Exactly what I needed this morning. Thank u Bethany & be blessed!
Have a magical day 💕

Just what I needed today, thank you! Will come back to this often

Thank you for speaking to the fruits of the Spirit🙏🏻 I try to alignment myself with these virtues in order to do God’s will. Easier said than done. Grateful for the encouragement. May God continue to bless you

Amazing! Thanks! 🌸🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼💕💕💕💕💕✨👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Beaovoice. Excellent way to tell the fruits can make you flourish. This was one I played most. When it was over played it again. Probably 10 times in a row.

Beautiful reminder of the fruits of the spirit 🍇 🙏🏻ty

Thank you❤️🙏❤️

That was beautiful, uplifting, and motivating! Pleas keep the Christian meditations coming… they ar much needed and appreciated! 🙏✝️
💜

This was just what I needed today. Thank You Holy Spirit for using and speaking through Bethany!

Definitely something I needed to hear this morning. Keep up the great work Bethany! 🙏🏼

So beautiful and inspiring!
Refreshing & renewing to awaken to! 🙏🙌💛

thought-provoking and Powerful! the impromptu prayer really hit the mark! will share with others, namaste

My hubby and I go to sleep to this every night. We are so grateful for you and your soothing voice and peaceful Christian meditations. ❤️🙏 God bless you and your loved ones beautiful Bethany

I pray our Lord Jesus blesses you, this work is incredible!

Thank you so much for prayers 🙌🏽🙌🏽💖

Thank you for the spontaneous prayer!

Lovely. God bless ❤❤❤

Thank you so very much! It was wonderful, uplifting and very reassuring! I truly appreciate your prayers! 🙏🏻💕🧘🏼‍♂️🙏🏻