But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ~ Galatians 5:22-25
I'm amazed at how these all go together. Not one of them would be complete without the others. I can always feel something not quite right in my spirit when one of these 9 is not being exercised.
I was noticing over the last few months, that every-time something was off in my spirit, it was because I was not being joyful. I was letting the circumstances in my life affect my inner joy.
It seems so easy to get stuck in this kind-of Eeyore rut.
Sometimes when we fall in a mud puddle, its easier and more flesh-full-filling to just sit and wallow in the mud we fell in. Instead of just standing up, learning from our mistake, and continuing to move forward, we sit and complain. Why? Because it's easier. And sometimes we like to be pitied. The longer we sit in the mud and complain, the more we hope to be pitied. . . After a while it is no longer full-filling to our flesh to complain and to be pitied over this mud puddle, so, we get up. . .
Sometimes, I think the whole reason we tend to wallow in our mud puddles, though, is because our joy is placed not in Christ, but in circumstances.
If the circumstances around us are affecting our joy then that means that is what our joy is founded in. Our joy should be in Christ and if it is, it should never change, because He never changes. He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever! Praise God for that!
