grace upon grace

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 HCSB

We admire hard work in others and the rewards it brings with sayings such: " the award is a fruit of his hard work." However, when it comes to the fruit of the Spirit, I cannot, by willpower, exertion and hard work, produce one, not one!

The hard work was done by a perfect man who sacrificed Himself for a world of imperfect people, us. That man was Jesus.

What must I then do? Humbly accept His gift,  with gratitude.

This morning I awoke to a dog scratching violently on the end of my bed. He had scratched a lot during the night and I was a little over it. My mind was filled with grumbling thoughts, my back was hurting as well. Then I remembered to worship. I began to praise the Lord for all His goodness to me, sing in the spirit and spend time with the Lord.

Out of this time came grace and patience. I bathed my dog, who has an itch, applied some salve and let him be. I had an elderly visitor and her dog, who barked constantly, stay last night. The dog barked for a few hours whilst I attempted to attend a tutorial. It was frustrating. I managed not to kill him. I survived the tut and dealt with the dog. My visitor had returned to Tamworth to finalise a home purchase. I had to be kind as this dear lady needed love and support and relied on me.

Grace is always what I need in such times. The song: On Repeat, by Hillsong talks about grace upon grace. That is exactly what I needed and what I received. Grace sets me free to produce fruit. In myself it would not happen.

So, let grace in! Amen!