No true Christian desires to produce the works of the flesh. The Holy Spirit convicts us of this sin, and our consciences create chaotic unease in our hearts. We desire to see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Over the next several weeks, we want to answer two crucial questions: What is the fruit of the Spirit, and how do we produce this fruit? When we discover the answers to these questions, we discover a life of satisfaction and joy.
Before we address the questions, we must focus on one important aspect of Paul’s text in Galatians 5, which describes the answers we seek. As Paul lists the actions of the flesh and the actions of the Spirit, he assigns two important labels to them. The first list he describes as the works of the flesh. These actions are things that we produce in ourselves through our actions and desires. Nothing of God is in them, so they are all a result of our efforts. This would help us understand why these are so dismal. Our corrupt, sin-stained hearts cannot create anything incorruptible without the help of something perfect.
On the other hand, Paul labels the second list as the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit is not something that you can will or work into being. Instead, the farmer or botanist creates the best environment for the plant to produce the fruit and hopes the harvest is plentiful. They till the ground, fertilize the soil, plant the seeds, water the plants, do all they can to keep pests from devouring the plants, and pray a lot.
In the same way, we can prepare our hearts to produce fruit, but we cannot create it ourselves. We must till the soil, fertilize the ground, plant the seeds, water the plants, and keep the pests away. But the result is not in our hands. It is not our fruit but the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit produces the fruit in our hearts. The Spirit works in the heart that is prepared (walking in the Spirit) and brings about the characteristics we all desire.
So, you cannot find joy simply by hoping for it. You cannot produce peace by working for it. You cannot become patient or loving simply by counting to ten when you don’t feel patience or love. These attributes must come from the Spirit. And they only come when our hearts are prepared. Much of modern psychology does not work because it fails to recognize this point. Our corrupt hearts cannot produce incorruptible attributes. The incorruptible can only be produced by the incorruptible Holy Spirit. So we must walk in the Spirit. There is an answer to your frustration. You can see these things in your life. But you must look in the right place.