Eat the Fruit of the Spirit: A Call to True Transformation

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
— Galatians 5:22-23

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
— Matthew 5:6

Many believers read about the fruit of the Spirit and perceive it as a feeling—an emotional response to the environment around them. But Paul, writing to the Galatians, makes it clear that the fruit of the Spirit is not a list of personality traits or moral behavior achieved through human effort. It is the result of the Spirit's work within a believer.

The problem is that some Christians wear these "fruits" like badges of honor, claiming them as evidence of personal strength or emotional control. But the true fruit of the Spirit cannot be manufactured by willpower or faked through mere behavior. It must flow from a heart aligned with the Spirit of God.

Consider the man who believes he is patient because he didn't talk back when insulted. Outwardly, he maintained silence. Inwardly, his heart raged with bitterness, resentment, and silent curses. That’s not patience. That’s suppression. True longsuffering is not the absence of a reaction, but the presence of peace.

James 3:17 puts it clearly:
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable…”
If it is not first pure, it is not of God. The fruit of the Spirit doesn't simply help you act right—it transforms your very nature so that you are right, from the inside out.

It’s important to understand that this fruit is spiritual and comes only from God. As natural fruit grows from a tree, so does spiritual fruit grow from abiding in the Spirit. Jesus says in John 15:5:
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit…”

If you desire patience, you don’t conjure it up. You ask the Spirit to produce it in you. This is where Matthew 5:6 comes into play:
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
Just like physical hunger drives us to seek food, spiritual hunger should drive us to seek righteousness. And we are promised that those who seek it will be filled.

When someone is hungry, they don't sit still and hope food falls into their lap. They take action. They cook, buy food, ask for help—or even cry out to God. Hunger moves you. In the same way, our hunger for righteousness should cause us to ask, seek, and knock. (See Matthew 7:7)

So ask for the fruit of the Spirit. Ask for peace in the storm. Ask for joy in the sorrow. Ask for gentleness in conflict. And He will fill you.

A woman once shared how her colleague at work constantly tried to undermine her. Every time she succeeded, this colleague would roll her eyes or find a way to discredit her efforts. Naturally, she felt like snapping back. But one morning in prayer, she asked God to fill her with His gentleness. That day, instead of retorting, she smiled and blessed the colleague with kind words. To her surprise, the woman's heart softened. A week later, they had a peaceful conversation. That wasn't her strength—it was the fruit of the Spirit at work.

Another believer was in a hospital room, awaiting surgery. Fear could have overwhelmed him. But he had asked the Lord for the joy of the Spirit that transcends understanding. As he waited, he began singing quietly to himself—songs of praise. Nurses came in and asked how he could be so calm. He said, “It's not me. It's the joy of the Lord.” That joy ministered to the staff more than he could have imagined.

A young man was pulled over by a traffic officer who wrongly accused him of violating a traffic rule. Everything in him wanted to argue and shout, but he remembered a teaching about meekness and temperance. In that moment, he quietly asked God for self-control. Calmly, he explained the situation, and though the officer still gave him a ticket, something changed in him. He wasn't shaken. He went his way in peace, knowing he had responded not with the fruit of the flesh, but of the Spirit.

Beloved, this is a call to believers: Eat the fruit of the Spirit. Feed on what only God can grow in you. Ask for love—not the emotional kind that disappears when you’re offended—but the kind that covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Ask for peace—not the absence of noise, but the presence of God. Ask for patience—not quiet bitterness, but enduring love.

Don’t try to conjure these fruits with human feelings. Don’t pretend. Don’t perform. Ask the Spirit. Hunger and thirst, and you will be filled.

Shalom.