November 1, 2021
A Spirit-Wrapped Heart
Suzanne Eller
Today’s Truth
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT)
Friend to Friend
One month ago, I had my last surgery after a second bout with breast cancer. It’s been such a weird year, standing outside the hospital a handful of times, saying my goodbyes to my family as I walk in to have surgery alone.
It’s been a hard, hard year; it’s okay to say that.
It’s also been a year of faith and growth. Galatians 5:22-23 has been a part of that.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT)
In this passage, Paul lists strong and beautiful attributes of a Spirit-led heart. I have wanted to be all these things even in this hard season.
I long to love like Jesus, especially to my family for they have been impacted by this battle too.
I desire to be marked by joy – not pretend happiness, but joy that comes from trusting and knowing God, right where I am.
I long to feel peace and also to offer it.
I desire to be patient with God’s timing, even in a battle I didn’t ask for, and in a pandemic that seems to go on forever.
But the truth is I am not all of these things, even when things are easy.
Perhaps that is why I love Galatians 5:22-23 so much. These verses are not a list of you-must-dos, but an inventory of what the Holy Spirit brings to us.
These attributes are available to us because the Holy Spirit dwells in us.
We can’t be all these things on our own, nor are we asked to be. Our role is to listen for the Holy Spirit and follow Him day by day. The more we do this, the more those attributes lead and guide us, and at some point we have a Spirit-wrapped heart.
In this last year, I’ve spent a lot of time wrapped in gauze. A double mastectomy. Reconstruction. Surgery after surgery. I should have stock in gauze!
The promise I see in Galatians 5 is that you and I can be Spirit-wrapped.
The strength we walk in is not ours; it’s His.
The wisdom we need; it’s there.
The capacity for love is greater than our own.
We find rock-solid joy tied to our relationship with God rather than our circumstances.
All of these attributes – love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, peace, self-control – these are not decisions of a spur-of-the-moment heart but produced as we trust and grow and make mistakes and get back up, all the while listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of us.
That’s what a Spirit-wrapped heart looks like.
I’m so excited that this last surgery was my final chapter in breast cancer battle #2. I can move forward again and I’m excited by that.
Yet I don’t want to forget what this season has taught me. A Spirit-wrapped heart leads me – not only in the hard spaces, but wherever I am. And it will do the same for you.
Remember that the Holy Spirit has everything you need in this season.
Ask for what you need. It’s right inside of you.
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit is inside of me and that’s hard to fathom. I realize I cannot have the fruits of the Spirit on my own, and You don’t ask that of me. When I reach for what is natural, remind me of the supernatural so very close at hand. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Which one of the fruits of the Spirit do you need the most right now in your life?
Click comment and share. You’ll see you’re not alone.
Do you feel ill-equipped? We all do and that’s natural. The good news is that the Holy Spirit lives inside of you and that’s supernatural.
More from the Girlfriends
In Suzie’s book, JoyKeeper: 6 Truths That Change Everything You Thought You Knew About Joy, she invites you to explore key joy stealers and how to exchange them with JoyKeeper truths that change your heart and your faith.
One joy stealer is when we place greater expectations on ourselves than God does. Suzie shares how to release what is not our job to step fully into what we can do.
Read the first chapter of JoyKeeper absolutely free.
© 2021 by Suzanne Eller. All rights reserved.
