An Overflowing Life

If you squeeze a tube of Crest, you will get toothpaste. If you squeeze a tube of Elmer’s glue, you will get glue. But what happens if you “squeeze” a Christian? What happens when life squeezes you? And me? 

Quite some time ago, I heard Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth say on her radio program, “Revive Our Hearts”, that her desire is to live out of the overflow of her relationship to Christ, so that when life squeezes her the fruit of the Spirit will flow from her spirit. That really got me to thinking. 

I had to ask myself: “What happens when life squeezes me? What happens when things don’t go my way? How do I react when I am criticized?” I would love to say that the Holy Spirit’s fruit is always a sweet-smelling cologne that blesses those around me, but that is not the case as often as it should be.  

So much for vulnerability, now what do I do about it? There is only one way, and it is found in Ephesians 5:18 “Do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit.” When we are filled to the brim with the Spirit of God, the natural result of being squeezed will be the fruit of the Holy Spirit exuding from our lives.  Instead of anger, defensiveness, rage, filthy talk, etc., others will experience the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of the Spirit.  

The child of God receives this fruit when he/she is born-again into God’s family. If you belong to Christ, you already have these qualities living in you because the Holy Spirit is in you. But like any garden, these attributes must be cultivated through the study of God’s word, prayer, and obedience to Christ.  

Realistically, none of us will be perfect at it in this life. But that is no excuse to let our “garden” fill up with weeds. The weeds are our disobedient acts, the times when we ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives and do our own thing. The only remedy for disobedience is humble repentance. Then, and only then, can the fruit of God’s Spirit begin to take root in our soul. 

The good news is our heavenly Father is always ready and willing to forgive and renew our hearts and minds. Let’s go to Him now. Don’t keep Him waiting.