Let the Spirit Form Your Defaults

A devotional for Friday

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT)

Imagine if you didn't have to decide from scratch how to respond every time life became difficult. What if the Holy Spirit had formed you so deeply that Christlike responses increasingly became your instinct? That's the invitation of spiritual formation. God isn't merely interested in helping us make a few better decisions. He wants to transform the kind of people making those decisions. As His Spirit works within us, love begins replacing selfishness. Patience interrupts irritation. Gentleness changes the way we handle conflict. Self-control gives us another option when our emotions want to take over. Eventually, the fruit growing within us begins determining the actions flowing from us. That's why our daily walk with God matters so much. We are allowing Him to form today the character we'll need tomorrow. When the jungle comes, what's already growing inside us comes out.

Question/Challenge:
Which fruit of the Spirit most needs God's transforming work in you right now?