"Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near."
James 5:7-8
This scripture reminds me of the story about a Frog and a Toad. Their names were Frog and Toad. Toad always admired Frog's garden and he wanted one too. So one day Frog told him: “It is very nice to have a garden, but it is hard work.” Frog gave Toad some flower seeds, and Toad quickly ran home to plant them.
“Now seeds,” said Toad, “start growing.” He tried very hard to make his garden grow. He shouted at the seeds, read them long stories, and sang songs to them—but they didn’t grow.
“What shall I do?” cried Toad. “Leave them alone,” Frog said. “Let the sun shine on them, let the rain fall on them. Soon your seeds will start to grow.” Then one day, little green plants appeared. “At last,” shouted Toad, “my seeds have stopped being afraid to grow! But you were right, Frog. It was very hard work.”
Like Toad waiting for his garden to grow, I used to wonder why things didn't happen according to "my" plan. I would get impatient and make things worse by trying to do things on my own instead of allowing them to happen in God's time. It was not until I finally "let go and let God", I started spending more time in prayer, in fellowship, and depended completely on Him for everything. Now I've come to realize that while I was being impatient, He was patiently waiting for me to surrender.I could have avoided so much heart ache, disappointment and frustration in my life if I had only trusted in God. All I need to do was to get rid of my own personal agenda and let Him be in control. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. ~Prov. 3:5-6
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" ~James 1:3
I can recall several times in my life when my faith was tested, but one that really stands out is the day of my wedding shower, a day filled with joy, and celebration. We celebrated with friends and family until late evening. When it was time to leave, we walked towards the space where I parked my car and noticed that the space was empty. Immediately, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach and I just froze in disbelief that this was happening only days away from my wedding day.
It took me a few minutes to realize that my car had been stolen. We filed a police report and decided that there was not much we could do until we returned from our honeymoon. However, on my wedding day, the car was found only a block away from where it was stolen. There was still nothing we could do until the insurance company completed their investigation that took several long weeks.
The settlement was only enough to pay off my car which was now inoperable. We had already spent all of our savings on the wedding, my husband was laid off and we had no money for a down payment on a new car. In desperation, I ended up buying a used car only to find out a few days later that it could not be financed and it had to be returned to the dealer immediately. My patience was running very low and I was starting to get discouraged. We prayed for God's will and to be able to trust Him.
What happened next was completely unexpected. After not being able to finance the used car, the dealer offered to sell me another car and at this point, I was willing to take any old clunker. Hours of waiting at the dealership felt like days but it was worth the wait because at the end of the day, I was able to drive out in a brand new car. God blessed me above and beyond what I even expected. It's amazing what can happen when we step aside, be patient and allow God to be in control.
"We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
~Romans 5:3-5
Have you noticed that you can read the same scripture several times and it can have a different meaning to you, depending on what you are going through at that point in your life. I recently came across Galatians 5:22 in my daily readings and interestingly enough, I was able to somehow correlate this scripture to a "Healthier Way of Living".
You see, my husband and I are in the process of "Transforming" our eating habits by eating more fresh Vegetables and "Fruits" every day because research tells us that vegetables and fruits are critical to promoting good health. We all know people who are healthy and have amazing bodies and when we ask them what they eat, their response always includes; "fruits and vegetables". Why not emulate them because they seem to know what they're doing, Right? A friend recently invited me to go grocery shopping with her so that I may learn more about healthier food choices. I thought to myself "why not?, after all, I am trying to make better choices and just by looking at her, she is obviously doing something right."
Just as our daily servings of Vegetables and Fruits can promote better health and better bodies, the nine daily servings of Spiritual Fruit in the book of Galatians can promote our Spiritual Health. The fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a Christian's transformed life. When we have been walking with Christ, our lives will start to show His attributes. Our walk with Jesus is also a transformation process as it says in Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
As I was sharing with my husband about my desire to start a blog about the Fruit of the Spirit, he pointed out that the first of 9 fruits mentioned in Galatians is "Love" because "God is Love" 1 John 4:16 . It all begins with Him.