Emotional Well-Being

Paul’s description of the fruit of the spirit is a much loved and I’d suggest a much-misunderstood passage. Paul’s lists the fruit of the spirit as follows in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

We misunderstand when we assume that these are emotions that we are responsible to self-generate. Our sinful na-ture wars against our being filled with love, joy, peace, etc. So, how do we produce this fruit? Consider John 15:5:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

We do not produce quality emotional fruit by concentrating extra hard. Rather just as a healthy branch connected to the vine produces good fruit, when we are connected to God our emotional output is healthier.

Thoughts for Reflection

1. What emotional struggles are you experiencing right now?

2. What emotional triggers can you think of that might be setting off your emotional responses?

3. Write a prayer that you can pray daily this week to ask God for His help in producing healthier emotional fruit in your life?

Here is a reflection guide that you can use following watching the video. 

Reflection Guide