“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB)

Recently, I taught a Sunday school class on the topic of peace. At the time, there was lots of drama happening in our small community, and I personally struggled with some anxiety related to my children. I believed that a reminder about the source of our peace would serve us all well in that season.

Ironically — or perhaps not — God put my Sunday school teaching to the test just two days later at a junior varsity football game, of all places … and my kids weren’t even playing! The score of the football game was a little more lopsided than I’d hoped for, so my mind started to drift to the upcoming baseball tournament both of my children would be playing in the next weekend.

While I love baseball and all the life lessons it has taught my children and me, I confess that it can also be a source of great stress. Over the last summer, I experienced several symptoms related to anxiety every time my children stepped up to bat, including an elevated heart rate that easily approached 140 beats per minute. This led me to keep saying what I call “panic prayers,” which only seemed to make me feel worse.

Now, any good baseball mom — or any other kind of sports mom for that matter — knows that she has very little control over what happens when her child is at bat or in the thick of the game. The preparation leading up to that point, both physical and mental, is what impacts that moment the most. I’ve learned to be outwardly quiet except for an initial “Let’s go!” as I yell out my sons’ jersey numbers.

But over that summer, my insides were anything but quiet. In fact, they were a roiling, boiling mess. The intensity of my prayers, while well-intentioned, didn’t match the situation at hand. I prayed for my sons to have good games with as much emotion as if I were praying for them to live after an accident. I knew it was a problem, but I had a hard time stopping my anxious reactions until God reminded me of this truth:

Peace is not a feeling; it’s a fruit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things” (Galatians 5:22-23).

According to these scriptures, peace — and all of the other eight traits that characterize the life of a believer in Jesus — is something God’s Spirit plants in our hearts at our salvation, then grows into maturity as we pursue knowing Him more and more.

Don’t miss this: If you have a relationship with Jesus, you already have a seed of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control planted in your heart. Notice that patience is on the list too.

You may not feel like you have a lot of patience to offer your children, but remember that patience, like peace, is a fruit, not a feeling. There is some measure of patience already sown in your redeemed heart, and with God’s help, it can sprout into something beautiful that helps you live your life in a way that brings glory to God and makes others wonder what you have that they need.

So today, friend, let's press in. Let’s feed our fruit. And watch it grow.

Father, cultivate peace and patience in me. While You’re at it, please grow love, joy, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Thank You for planting these seeds in my heart when You saved me. Develop them over time so that I look more and more like You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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For a playbook on gracefully growing in patience every day, find support in Brooke McGlothlin’s 30-day devotional and reflective journal, Everyday Prayers for Patience: Giving Yourself and Your Kids the Grace to Grow.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (NIV).

What is the biggest challenge to your peace or patience right now?

What’s one thing you can do today to lean into God, hand over your worries or frustrations, and learn to love your kids and yourself a little bit better — giving all of you the grace to grow?

© 2023 by Brooke McGlothlin. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Whitaker House Publishers for their sponsorship of today’s devotion.

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