Discerning God’s Work in You: Walking in the Fruit of the Spirit

Walking in the fruit of the Spirit doesn’t happen by trying harder, but by allowing God to transform your life. The revolution of Jesus is one of character, which proceeds by transforming people from the inside through an ongoing personal relationship with Christ. It transforms their ideas, beliefs, feelings, habits of choice, bodily tendencies, and social relations.

If Christ’s people genuinely enter Christ’s way of the heart, they will find a sure path toward becoming who they were meant to be: people who walk in the fruit of the Spirit.

“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. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” Galatians 5:22-23,25 (NIV).

Discover Your Walk in the Fruit of the Spirit

Invite a friend and discover together how God is at work on the inside of your lives. Use this resource as a starting point for conversation and a way to encourage and challenge one another in your relationship with Jesus.

• Step 1: Ask God to help you think of a situation where you wish you had behaved differently. This might be a specific conversation with a certain difficult person or, more generally, how you treat others when you’re delayed.

• Step 2: What sort of heart would you like to have in these situations? Dream of having a heart that reflects the fruit of the Spirit: a heart that is patient, kind, not self-seeking or easily irritated (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-5)? What actions would flow from such a large heart? Close your eyes and picture yourself in that situation with this kind of renovated heart.

• Step 3: Compose these dreams and desires as a prayer. Ask God to help you walk out these qualities you’ve dreamed about. If you’re afraid that your needs won’t get met or that you’ll be walked on, share this concern with God and ask him for courage. Picture yourself in these difficult situations as one who is confident and secure (see Amos 5:24).

• Step 4: Share your dream with someone. Choose someone who may be with you in the situation and who can support your dream.

Adapted from Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation, by Dallas Willard and Jan Johnson. Devotions copyright © 2006 by Jan Johnson. Original material from Renovation of the Heart copyright © 2002 by Dallas Willard. Published by NavPress, navpress.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved