Saturday, December 2, 2017

Am I Going to Be OK? The Tools of the Spirit

Continuing with the fruits of the Spirit dilemma and how ashamed I feel most of the time the phrase is uttered, the core of the issue has to do with my self-centeredness.  I think it all revolves around me.  Therefore, I think I have ultimate control over all I do, feel and think.  This is one of the biggest fallacies the enemy uses to manipulate us and make us walk away from Our Lord… when we feel in control, we don’t need a Savior… we don’t need a Lord… for we are both…

I really think the approach Holley Gerth uses in her book You’re Going to Be Okay is really interesting and ultimately, very useful.  She explores the mind and the command to transforming it in a way that seems very practical.  I particularly appreciate the reminder that we want our thoughts to be controlled by the Spirit, not by our flesh.  One very realistic way to accomplishing this state is by intentionally testing our thoughts against the Fruits. 

She offers a little chart with the fruits of the Spirit on the left, matched by a list of what I’m calling the fruits of self-annihilation, on the left, preceded by the question: “Does this thought bring …?” We are supposed to think of a currently pressing thought and then check or circle all the applicable items from the two lists in the chart.  I’m going to reproduce the chart here, because I believe it is super useful:

o   Love
o   Joy
o   Peace
o   Patience
o   Kindness
o   Goodness
o   Faithfulness
o   Gentleness
o   Self-Control
o    Isolation
o   Depression
o   Anxiety
o   Striving
o   Condemnation
o   Shame
o   Doubt
o   Harshness
o   Self-punishment/self-indulgence

“If all the checks are o the right, we are to consider that the thought is NOT from God.  If some of the checks are on the right, there may be some truth, but there are lies too.  If all of the checks are on the left and the thought aligns with Scripture, it’s of God.”

I mean, really?  How simple is that?!  I don’t know about you, but using the Fruits of the Spirit this way changes them from an anxiety/dread-inducing list of out-of-my-reach attributes that I desperately need, but don’t seem to ever get, to a tool directly given to me by the Most High to help me gain control of my thought-life and begin to allow the Holy Spirit to start the renewing of my mind!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12: 2

Praised be the Lord.  His ways are not my ways, but His ways are perfect!

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