Perfected In The Fire

When God wants to bring about a change in us, He does things in mysterious ways. I often find myself praying to God prayers asking Him to help me genuinely love people, to give me grace to forgive quickly, to make me patient, etc., but God revealed to me that those prayers cannot be granted overnight. I cannot just pray such prayers and automatically start loving everyone and forgiving everything with no hesitation. In order for God to make me a patient person and to make me someone whose heart is moved with compassion, God has to place me in circumstances that will develop those characteristics in me.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."-Galatians 5:22-23

It is very interesting that the Scripture chose to use the word "fruit" to describe the characteristics of a godly Christian. Fruit is a result of a tree that has been planted. When one desires an apple tree, they plant the seed in the season. That seed is then watered and nurtured for months to allow the seed to grow roots and sprout. Eventually over years, the small seed becomes a huge tree and begins to bear apples. The entire process from seed to a tree that bears fruits takes about two to five years depending on the apple type and throughout those years, that tree must continuously be watered and cared for to prevent anything from hindering its growth. The same thing applies to the Christian. The fruits of the Spirit come as a result of the process God takes us through. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:10 that God is He who supplies seed to the sower. This is to mean that whatever it is that we desire from God, He is ready to supply those needs, but it is important to note that He gives you the seeds, not the finish product. Effective change comes with work and enduring the tests that come with the process of bearing fruits.

Controlling Your Emotions: Anger

The Lord taught me a very humbling lesson tonight. I was at the home office I built in my room where I study when my neighbors started playing really loud, disruptive music. This was not the first time they've done this nor was it the 5th time. This is a problem I've dealt with constantly for the last six months. Today, however, I remembered that my brother gave me some speakers when I went home for the Christmas period. I searched for those speakers, connected them to the bluetooth on my phone, and starting playing Nigerian Christian  praise songs on the highest volume my speakers can reach. Here I was, trying to study but being distracted by the music, and now I've added to the noise with my own music. I couldn't study and at the same time, my spirit did not feel right. Part of my heart knew I was not responding to this situation right because I knew the only reason I was blasting my music was because I was angry. In a way, I felt I was disrespecting God because I was playing praise songs with an angry heart to "get back" at someone instead of to give God glory. The Holy Spirit instantly convicted me. I looked at the time and noticed that it was time for me to have my evening devotion. I've set a specific time of the day where no matter what I am doing, I stop to spend time in the presence of God. I knew then and there that God needed to speak to me so I stopped the music and said this prayer: " Lord, please  forgive me for not seeking Your face concerning this situation. Father, please teach me how to handle it in Jesus' Name. Amen". The Holy Spirit directed me to the following passage:


"Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground as though He did not hear." John 8: 5-6 (NKJV)