We should follow the "easy route"
and find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in the presence of God.
Through spending time in God's presence in the present moment, His
good work will produce fruit in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22-23) will reach maturity if we allow ourselves to be
in His presence in the present moment. When we rest in His
presence, He will consume us with His Spirit, and fill us with all
the treasures that are ours for the taking.
Let's think about it for a moment.
When we add the "present moment" to our thinking, a whole new
dimension in the fruit of the Spirit opens up. Just ponder the
concept. We will have so much more patience if we just focus on now
and not on everything we still need to do. We will have more peace
if we don't have to worry about tomorrow. We will have more joy if
we don't live in the past and relive all the horrible things done
to us. We will display more kindness and goodness if we only focus
on now, what we can do to help someone in need right now, and not
focus on the multitudes that also need help. We will exercise more
self-control if our focus is on Him, and how we can glorify His
Name in this specific situation. We will display more love if we
forget about how people have disappointed us in the past. We will
be more faithful in the presence of God if we do what He has placed
in our hearts right now and not extend it to some future date. In
fact, everything will be easier for us if we can control our minds
and stay focused on our wonderful God in the present moment.
The fruit of the Spirit is inherent
to God, and if we allow Him to consume us, it will
automatically be part of us too. God is the great I AM; He is here
right now. And we are part of Jesus' Body (Ephesians 1:23) right
now. Not at some future date, but now. The new creation within us
is part of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and they are
eternal. Jesus Himself said that He is the Alpha and Omega, the
Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Revelation 22:13).
He is forever eternal, and, therefore, we are too. We are connected
to the One Who is present everywhere and Who lives forevermore. So
we can be filled with His presence even more and display His fruit
for all to see. There are no more places for regrets, being
unforgiving and the old creation in Him. In Him, all things become
new. All things are eternal and never ending. There is no more
sorrow or pain, just unspeakable joy.
(Excerpt from The Second
Creation - Ilze Henderson)