He Has You

This past week marked the sixth year since I began praying each morning for a word and posting it online. Every day since then the Lord has never failed me, and friend, He will never fail you in what He has called you to do. In however He is calling you, press into it.

Here is the first word I posted, a day when I was especially broken: 7-21-2013: “Father God, I know that every tear produced in suffering is not wasted in Your kingdom. Tears water the life so it can produce fruit. Every suffering has a purpose. I pray that You Lord would bless someone’s tears today.”

Trials are the plow that breaks your heart so fruit can grow from you. “For thus says the LORD …’Break up your fallow ground…’” (Jeremiah 4:3).

The wounds of your soul mark the path to His presence. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…” (Job 13:15).

The ground can yield no fruit without the soil first being broken apart. “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12).

The Lord prunes more so that you can be more. Jesus taught, “…every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2).

The spiritual fruit in us is the measure by which we are ready to walk in spiritual gifts and bear fruit for the kingdom. When the fruit of the Holy Spirit in a believer is pure and ripe, God can work through such a person without the hindrance of their flesh and their pride getting in His way.

The limit of what you can do is not Him, but you. The great obstacle for a man is himself. Until you yield to Him you are only getting in His way.

Do not focus on the problem outside you, but the deficiency it reveals within you. Frustrations in your life reveal which fruit of the Spirit has not yet ripened.

You must first have the fruit of the Holy Spirit before you will be nourished to walk in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23).

If a fruit tree does not produce fruit, then it is not living within its purpose. So it is with the believer.

The filling of the Holy Spirit is measured by the fruit that flows out. Jesus taught, “…every good tree bears good fruit…” (Matthew 7:17).

Seek the fruit and it will be there the gifts will follow. The reason the gifts flow where there is fruit is because the fruit is always selfless and seeks what is best for others. The same is true with the gifts, they are not for us, but to be through us. In the kingdom we are useful when we are selfless. We have too many fruitless believers seeking the gifts without the fruit of the Holy Spirit evident within them.

A tree never struggles to produce fruit, but merely abides that the fruit would come naturally. Stop trying to produce fruit, and simply yield that the Holy Spirit would do so through you. It is not your fruit, but of the Spirit of Christ in you. Jesus taught, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

You cannot take the fruit of the Holy Spirit, only be the good ground from which the fruit would grow from. Jesus taught, “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces…” (Matthew 13:23).

The fruit produced by man looks good at first but will never last. Natural fruit rots, but spiritual fruit will last forever. The Lord Jesus taught, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing…” (John 6:63).

Just as the soil yields that plants may grow, so the fruit of the Spirit grows from a heart that yields. Your heart reveals all. “for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Ephesians 5:9).

The fruit you bear depends on the ground you stand on. Jesus said, “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).

As we mature in our faith, we will find that the fruit is greater than the gifts. The fruit is the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, whereas the gifts are the power of the Holy Spirit through us. Though we are most blessed that His power might flow through us, we are kept by the presence of Him in us. The greatest gift He gives us is Himself.

Growing spiritually has to do with yielding ground not gaining ground.

Growing spiritually is not gaining power, but relinquishing power, relinquishing your right to you. “…yield yourselves to the LORD…” (2 Chronicles 30:8).

Yielding produces, it allows. “Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase…” (Ezekiel 34:27).

Friends, there is much to do in the kingdom. Yield yourselves to a God Who is worthy to yield to, and let Him use you as He will. You will never regret yielding to Him. Abide in Christ, be filled of the Holy Spirit, submit to the Father, and your life will never be the same again.

The greatest obstacle to kingdom work is the efforts of man. It is the pride of man that will not allow him to become a servant. Pride desires your greatness whereas God desires your surrender. Don’t let your idea of success get in the way of His. Whatever God is calling you to, start.

If you are in His calling, then nothing can stop you.

Blessings to you,

Paul Balius

All Scripture is quoted from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted. Please use the version you prefer to review the verses shown here. The best version is the one you read. An even better version is the one you live.