Fruit of the Spirit

Sometimes I wonder why bad things happen to good people. I was raised on praise for doing good, making good grades, for being a "good" girl. Yet all that "goodness" did not prevent me from going through trials, setbacks and losses in my life. The "goodness" matured and grew into the "fruit of the Holy Spirit," which the Bible lists in Galatians 5:22.

The King James version states: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

The Amplified version puts it in more contemporary English:  But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,

 

Thank God that "goodness" matures into love, joy and peace! Do you have the fruit of the Holy Spirit? It is yours for the asking! Just pray a simple prayer of repentance and for the Holy Spirit to come into your heart, and watch him work in your life.

 

Yes, bad things can happen to good people, but if you have the Holy Spirit, He will carry you through it, will sustain you in it, and will bless you all the more as you come out of it.