How the Holy Spirit Will Help You Change the World
I talk to more and more people all the time who say they just can’t watch the news anymore. They simply find themselves too discouraged by the steady message of things that are wrong . . . with crime, protests, riots, and illness.
It often feels like the goal is to keep us fearful and frustrated.
And the answer we hear online and through the media is one that includes more rules.
Today’s chapter starts with these words…
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Galatians 5:1
No, that’s not freedom to do whatever we want. It is the freedom to follow Jesus’ command to love.
How often we’ve talked about the fact that loving and living unselfishly is impossible. And that’s why Paul also wrote…
Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.
Galatians 5:16a
Why?
Because when the Spirit guides us . . . he makes it possible for us to do what Paul referred to a “Spirit produced fruit.”
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
Don’t you want to see a little more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.?
I believe that is God’s power to change the world today.
We know that Jesus has changed lives for all eternity.
He also left us His Spirit to change the world right now.
How?
When you and I surrender our lives to His Holy Spirit…
The words of Christ will be in our minds, the love of Christ will be behind our words and actions, and the power of Christ will help us control our selfish desires. (Paraphrase of the LAB Notes)
Yes, it’s easy to complain about the state of the world but I wonder if rather than wringing our hands and crying “ain’t it awful” . . . we couldn’t make a greater difference by simply sharing God’s love, the message of Jesus, and the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit.
So, let’s pause and pray again today. Let’s ask Lord to help us surrender our lives to the Father, through faith in Christ Jesus . . . that the Holy Spirit might work in each of us helping us to produce “fruit” that has the power of God to change the world!
A Prayer for Holy Spirit “Fruit” to Change the World
Father, please forgive me. I can be so quick to wring my hands and complain about the problems I see in the world before I bring them to You in prayer. I often see the flaws and faults around me before I admit the failures within me. Please work within me. Cleanse me. And help me trust and obey Your will.
I surrender my life to You through faith in Jesus. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I might live each day controlled by Your love and produce the character traits that share Your love with others. Give me the desire to know and trust Your will and an eagerness to obey Your commands.
Fill my heart and mind with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Help me live with love in ways that the people I meet might want what I have. Change the world through the power and love of Christ Jesus within me.
Help me live this day for Your glory. Help me live in ways that show You and others Your gracious generous love. Amen.
So, you want to change the world.
Don’t worry about the world . . . start at home ask the Spirit to transform your heart.
Join me, as I surrender my life to God today, through faith in Jesus. Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit and produce in you “fruit” that will share His love. May He help each of us reach out in ways that touch lives that His Spirit might change the world.
On today’s note write:
The “fruit of the Spirit” is the love of Christ that has the power to change the world.
May God bless you today as You share the love of Christ with others.
May we all surrender, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to God’s will each day, and continue to pray.
Blessings, Deb!
Amen, Martha! Blessings!
I find I have to remind myself everyday to surrender to God’s will. I want to be that person that shows the world love through all of Christ’s attributes but I fail much of the time. Holy Spirit fill me and let me show the word the Fruit of the Spirit.
I hear you, Marilyn! If only I could love like Jesus consistently. What a blessing that He forgives and gives us new opportunities to trust Him each day. May the Lord help us love with His love. God bless you!
There is no doubt the internet has brought the ugliness of the world to our faces. I have limited my exposure to how much I allow for most of my life. My system cannot handle much. I desperately need the Lord and His Spirit and am so grateful to have Him inside me. It is like a safe haven. I so pray that the world will calm down and that the devil will not reign. Trust the Lord with all your heart and soul. Blessings to everyone.
I try to do the same, Jean. Many things for us to take to the Lord, in prayer. I am so thankful that we can take everything to Him and trust that He is sovereign over all things. Thanks so much for visiting! God bless you!
Help us all to produce “good fruits” and be the light of Christ in this dark world. Holy Spirit guide us as we surrender ourselves to the will of the Father in heaven.