"Role of the Spirit"

 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." (John 14:16 KJV)

  "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT)

 Let me say, there are some days that I feel like I need to give up; not on the task that I have been given, taking care of my wife, but on the role that I have been given as a provider, a business owner, and the job that I have been given, (or burdened with,) for so many years. It just seems like it chips away at every single one of those fruits that Paul expresses above, especially patience and self-control! 

 Maybe there is some reason that I have this feeling; maybe God is trying to tell me something I need to pay attention to! Believe it or not, but I it has more power over me than I can sometimes manage; there are days when I feel as though I cannot go on anymore, and the pressure of it all; well let's just say that my dog is beginning to worry about me! 

 That said and off my chest, I am blessed to have been blessed! Yes, it's hard to handle and is sometimes way too far out of control; but for the 3 to 4 hours a night that I sleep, I think I actually sleep pretty good! Can I tell you why? Because I have no real worries! I'm not saying that I don't have concerns and the desires to get things done, because I always do; but I never worry about the outcome of anything. 

 We can only do so much, as much as we can do; everything else is up to God! I do what I must, and most times less than I should; mostly because I don't have more hours in a 24-hour day! If you didn't notice, there is something missing from the list above: Endurance! That is because the Fruit-Salad of what the Holy Spirit produces within us, it makes us into someone that does not quit, even if we want to quit, we must endure! 

 I really hope someone out there understood this and can somehow apply it to their life, because this is real and this is life, as many of us experience, in some way or another. It doesn't need to be about work, it could also be about family; a spouse that is out of control, or a child that has gotten unruly. It could be about sickness or the threat of dying from cancer or disease. 

 Each and every trial that we face, (or try to run from,) is there to strengthen our endurance! Why do you think that is? Personally, I think it is because that is the one thing that we can actually do...

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:3-5 NLT)