Your Reaction bears the Fruit

You are going to react to every circumstance that you face, whether the situation is good or bad, you will react. Your reaction in good times is easy, the real test comes when you are facing difficult, unfavorable, and trying circumstances. The action you take then especially, will determine the fruit that you bear. 

That fruit can either be bad or good, and will depend solely on you. In other words you cannot always control the circumstances that come your way but you surely can control how you react to those circumstances.

Will your reaction result in fruit that’ll be beneficial to you or will it bear fruit for death? 

You can decide to indulge your human nature and complain, groan, get angry, hate, use obscene language, be filled with ire, keep malice, become envious, and allow strife to flourish in your heart or you can trust God to work the fruit of His Spirit in you, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23), trust Him to work things out, put away all negative responses, count it all joy, thank Him, and praise Him even in the midst of your dilemma. 

You have freedom of choice but one way will lead you to bear fruit for death and the other will lead you to bear fruit for life. Proverbs 10:2 says that if you do the right things, then your actions can save you from death. 

In Deuteronomy 30:19 God tells us to choose life. Shouldn’t you then, choose life?

Focusing on yourself and the circumstance will result in your reacting in the wrong way but if you begin praising God, thanking Him and seeking His wisdom, your reaction will be very different. God will be occupying your attention and your reaction will be based in faith and trust in God and that will bring out good fruit in you.

James 3:17 says to seek God’s wisdom in every circumstance because God’s wisdom is full of good fruit.

Psalm 1:3 says that when you bear good fruit, you will prosper in all you do.

Your aim should be to bear good fruit whatever the circumstance. So, no matter what you’re going through right now, find strength in the Lord your God (1 Samuel 30:6), depend on Him to bring you out (Psalm 71:20), wait on Him (Proverbs 20:22), and always react in love (Proverbs 10:12).

Amen † 

Your Reaction bears the Fruit

Shelley Johnson January 19, 2017