Day 4
Galatians 5:22–24 (NET)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Jesus said that He came to bring life abundantly and then the Holy Spirit shows up with gifts and fruit! God is generous indeed!
In John chapter 15 verse 5, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me - and I in him - bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.” When we are connected to Jesus, the Holy Spirit works within us to make us more like Jesus. He produces fruit in us and we become more loving, more peaceful, more kind, etc. A life marked by these things is a life well-lived, an abundant life.
What is more, God is a very good gardener! He knows how to prune just right, how to fertilize perfectly and how to cultivate the growth of good things in our lives! He wants his fruit to grow abundantly in our lives! He desires our lives to be marked in an obvious way with goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, etc.!
I’ll be honest - I am a terrible gardener. And, if I am being even more honest - I don’t even like gardening. I don’t understand it, it is a lot of work and everytime I have tried, the weeds grow better than my veggies! And really, that is kind of how it goes when I try to be the gardener of my own life. I can put in a tremendous amount of work and see very few results. So, when we read a verse like this, we can fall into thinking that we need to make these things happen in our life. But God is the gardener and these fruits that we want to experience abundantly in our lives are the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
That means it is not our job to grow the fruit. Rather it is our job to “remain” in Jesus. As we make room for Jesus, the Holy Spirit does His work! Our job is to participate in the work when and where He directs. Our job isn’t to make fruit, it is to allow God to garden our lives.
A life filled with the fruit of the Spirit is an abundant life! But that kind of life isn’t one we can manufacture on our own. In order to live life abundantly, we must stay connected to Jesus and participate with the work of the Holy Spirit.
In John chapter 15 verse 5, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me - and I in him - bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.” When we are connected to Jesus, the Holy Spirit works within us to make us more like Jesus. He produces fruit in us and we become more loving, more peaceful, more kind, etc. A life marked by these things is a life well-lived, an abundant life.
What is more, God is a very good gardener! He knows how to prune just right, how to fertilize perfectly and how to cultivate the growth of good things in our lives! He wants his fruit to grow abundantly in our lives! He desires our lives to be marked in an obvious way with goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, etc.!
I’ll be honest - I am a terrible gardener. And, if I am being even more honest - I don’t even like gardening. I don’t understand it, it is a lot of work and everytime I have tried, the weeds grow better than my veggies! And really, that is kind of how it goes when I try to be the gardener of my own life. I can put in a tremendous amount of work and see very few results. So, when we read a verse like this, we can fall into thinking that we need to make these things happen in our life. But God is the gardener and these fruits that we want to experience abundantly in our lives are the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
That means it is not our job to grow the fruit. Rather it is our job to “remain” in Jesus. As we make room for Jesus, the Holy Spirit does His work! Our job is to participate in the work when and where He directs. Our job isn’t to make fruit, it is to allow God to garden our lives.
A life filled with the fruit of the Spirit is an abundant life! But that kind of life isn’t one we can manufacture on our own. In order to live life abundantly, we must stay connected to Jesus and participate with the work of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer Focus for today:
Imagine God as a gardener in your life. What does He want? Does He want more access to your life, your “garden”? Does He want help preparing the “soil” of your heart? Does He want you to notice the fruit that is already growing? Does He want to do some pruning? Does He want you to set down your tools and rest with Him? Ask Him what that might look like.
Imagine God as a gardener in your life. What does He want? Does He want more access to your life, your “garden”? Does He want help preparing the “soil” of your heart? Does He want you to notice the fruit that is already growing? Does He want to do some pruning? Does He want you to set down your tools and rest with Him? Ask Him what that might look like.
Posted in Month of Prayer 2026
1 Comment
Aimee, I can totally relate to your gardening experiences. No matter how much I want to grow beautiful or delicious things, it simply doesn't produce what I expect. I am so thankful that God doesn't put pressure on us to grow the most beautiful or delicious fruit. He is the grower and sustainer. But we are called to be connected to His branches, to abide in Him and join Him in His work. Thank you for this picture of God's abundance.