Verse: Galatians 5: 22 & 23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
I had a cat that loved for me to pet her. She would stand right beside me and nudge me with her nose. She knew exactly where to put that cold wet nose so that I would have no choice but to move my arm to get away from that nose. Then she waited for my arm to come down right next to her and for my hand to land on her waiting head. It worked every time.
God is gentle, patient and loving toward us. In Galatians 5:22 & 23 the fruits of the spirit are listed as; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits of the spirit are traits that we gain by imitating Christ and living in obedience to His Spirit. Since that is how we obtain these fruits, then it is true that Christ, already possesses these traits. He must first possess them in order to give them to us. When we are obedient to Him these traits are blessings that are given to us as a reward for our continued faithfulness. Since God, the Father, is gentle, then it makes sense that He would urge us toward obedience and stepping out of our comfort zone, gently.
Vine’s Concise Dictionary of the Bible defines gentle as: ‘not insisting on the letter of the law,’ and ‘sweet reasonableness’ (p. 152). In
1 Kings 19:12 the Lord spoke in a gentle whisper.
Zechariah 9:9 states that He is gentle, (lowly) and
Matthew 11:29 says that He is gentle and humble. From these verses we see that Jesus and God the Father are gentle in speech, and in actions, and in His request for obedience. Therefore, when we perceive something coming from Him in a forceful manner we may be interpreting His actions according to the world’s standards. Biblically that is not His nature when He interacts with believers.
If we are thinking that He is being harsh then that is most likely a misinterpretation on our part. Also, remember the fruits of the spirit. One of them is gentleness, in order for God to give these traits to us (believers), He must first possess them Himself.
Love the Lord, all His saints!
Prayer: Father, thank you for your gentleness towards me. Help me understand the characteristics you possess so that I can recognize your work in progress and join you.
Read More:
Matthew 11:28-30Action Plan (
James 1:22-25):
Ask God to show you where you can step out of your comfort zone for Him. Remember that He will be gentle about it and it will be your decision to obey. He will never force you.
