Hello Beautiful!
Let’s talk about the fruits of the Spirit!
Before you dive, let’s do a quick prayer:
Father, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray that each word written in this blog post will encourage and motivate this beautiful soul of yours to move forward in their divine calling and identity in you. I come against all blockage sent by the enemy to stop them from receiving your word. I declare and decree that they will feel the power, anointing, and love of God through this post today in the might name of Jesus Christ!
Amen
Recently, I decided to go on a fast by the leading of Holy Spirit. During the fast, I found myself searching for the fruits of God in each person I saw; When I was supposed to be focusing on my heart. I was allowing their outer appearance to dictate if they were Christian or not. God placed this question on my heart at that moment––do you have the fruits? The conviction was so firm that I began to ask God for forgiveness. The word of God said, “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye (Matthew 7:5).” The only way to find out if I had a beam in my eye was to ask God to search my heart, which he did. God doesn’t care about the outer if the inner is filthy. God works on the heart first because that’s his home in us, and once that’s clean, the outside will start to reflect, but not in the ways WE want.
The fast enabled me to really listen to my heart because the flesh was silent. After watching several videos on fasting, I realized that fasting is not about how long one can go without eating or how much they feel the Lord’s Spirit in the room with them. But rather, it’s about saying to the Lord, “I am giving myself to you in this special way. I am silencing the flesh just to walk in the Spirit. Speak to me, God, and purge my heart. Expose the iniquities that are hidden within. Increase so that I can decrease.” Fasting is about diligently seeking the Lord and expecting to find him because he said in Jeremiah 9:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
So, I was led to write done the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit because sometimes, we are so quick to look for those fruits in others because Jesus said in Matthew 7:16 “that we shall know them by their fruit,” but how often do we look at ourselves and see if WE embody these fruits. So, here are the nine fruits with definitions of what they mean, along with some declarations for your life:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)
Love: Amiable; that may excite love; possessing qualities which may invite affection.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives – 2Sam. 1.
Joy: A glorious and triumphant state.
Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. Heb.12.
The cause of joy or happiness.
For ye are our glory and joy. 1 Thess 2.
Peace: Freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions, as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety, or the like; quietness of mind; tranquillity; calmness; quiet of conscience.
Great peace has they that love the law. Ps.119.
Longsuffering: Bearing injuries or provocation for a long time; patient; not easily provoked.
The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness. Ex. 34.
Gentleness: Sensitivity of disposition and kindness of behavior, founded on strength and prompted by love.
Paul appeals to believers “by the meekness and gentleness of Christ” ( 2 Cor 10:1).
Goodness: Virtue and holiness in action. It results in a life characterized by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It’s a moral characteristic of a Spirit-filled person.
As others see our good works, they will praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
Faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Heb. 11.
For we walk by faith, and not by sight. 2Cor. 5.
Meekness: Humility; resignation; submission to the divine will, without murmuring or peevishness; opposed to pride, arrogance, and refractoriness. Gal.5.
I beseech you by the meekness of Christ. 1 Cor.10.
Temperance: (“self-control”) the ability to control oneself. It involves moderation, constraint, and the ability to say “no” to our baser desires and fleshly lusts.
Self-control naturally leads to perseverance (2 Peter 1:6) as we value the long-term good instead of the instant gratification of the world.
Declarations
I declare and decree by the power of the Holy Spirits who lives in me, who was sent through Jesus Christ to lead me into all truth and understanding, that I will be loving to all around me. Those I know and those I don’t know; those I disagree with; those I disagree with; those of the faith and those who are not.
I declare and decree that I am joyful because the joy of the Lord is my strength, and I have the joy of his salvation. I will always be joyful in my heart each and every day because I am loved and protected by God almighty. Through me, others will see and feel the beauty of God’s joy.
I declare and decree that I have peace, and I am a peacemaker because Jehovah Shalom is always with me in the name of Jesus. His peace that surpasses all understanding is keeping my mind and heart always. I “know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” I will not be shaken by the cares of this world, for the promises of God is my solid work.
I declare and decree that I have a longsuffering nature just like Jesus because the same Spirit that was in him is now in me. I will be patient with all people no matter what they have done to me because God said, we don’t war against the flesh but against spirits. I will always strive to embody the mercy, compassion, and patience that christ called all Christians to have to advance his kingdom on earth.
I declare and decree that I have the Spirit of gentleness living in me in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus, I pray that you will help me be more sensitive to others, so I don’t intentionally or unintentionally add to their hurt. I will always love and care for others no matter how much they have wronged me, remembering that my battles are spiritual, not carnal.
I declare and decree that I will always strive to be good and do good, not because I believe my good works will save me, but to advance God’s kingdom by exemplifying the nature of Christ. I will not lean on my own understanding, but in all my ways, I will acknowledge him and seek his kingdom, trusting that the Holy Spirit will lead me to what I need to do and when I need to do it. I pray that my decisions will align with God’s divine will for my life.
I declare and decree that my faith will continue to grow in Christ through the strength of the Holy Spirit. I will tell all the mountains in my life to move by faith––trusting that they will move because Jesus said if we just have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can tell the mountain to move, and it must move. My faith will only be found in christ––not my job, friends, or family. I will walk by faith, knowing that my God is with me, and he will never leave me nor forsake me.
I declare and decree that I am meek towards all and in every situation: humble, teachable, moldable, and temperate. I come against the Spirit of pride and pettiness in the name of Jesus Christ. I will not render evil for evil. I will “do all things without murmurings and disputings: That [I] may be blameless and harmless, [as a child of God], without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom [I] shine as lights in the world” in the name of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:14-15).
I declare and decree that I am temperate––walking in self-control––walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Through the Holy Spirit, I have the strength to resist all activities and people that would cause me to stumble in the name of Jesus Christ.
I make all these declarations over my life not by my might but by the power of the Holy Spirit. God, please help me to walk in all nine fruits of the Holy Spirit every day of my life to resemble the love of Christ and 1 Timothy 4:12 (Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in Spirit, in faith, in purity). I am loving, joyful, peaceful, longsuffering, gentle, good, faithful, meek, and temperate. Amen!
The definitions are from https://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/index-T.html, https://www.gotquestions.org/fruit-Holy-Spirit-self-control.html, and of course, the KJV bible. Thank you for reading.
Thank you for reading!
