Freely Speaking Audio Devotion

Welcome to Freely Speaking, an OHSOFREE devotional ministry where we share our hearts and trust God for transformation.

Today’s devotion was written by Shayla Bullock.

Our scripture reading is from Galatians 5:22-23 NIV.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV).

We’ve all heard a variation of the saying, “Too much of a good thing can be harmful.” One of my sons loves fruit! All kinds of fruit. Fruit is a great snack, but he could eat twenty servings of fruit a day. At the doctor’s orders, we had to limit his fruit intake. Sure enough, even good things need to be limited. Can you think of something good that still needs limits in your life?

I’m sure we all can think of negative things that we need to weed out. But there are also possibly some good things in our lives that we indulge in excess, which we might need to limit. However, when I read Galatians 5:22-23, I find no law against the fruit of the spirit. That means we can indulge in the fruit in excess, which will be completely healthy and acceptable in God’s eyes!

The fruit of the spirit lists one of its attributes as joy. Just imagine we are not limited in embracing and choosing joy. Happiness is circumstance-based, but joy overrides our situations and circumstances. Things may be imperfect, but joy is always an exceptional option! We can’t go wrong by choosing joy. Joy may not always change our condition, but it can change our experience. Our joy can serve as a witness to the joy of the Lord, to a lost world.

In Acts 16, we find Paul and Silas in prison. Despite their physical condition, we see them praying and singing hymns. They chose joy, and their joy was liberating!

How can you pursue joy right now in your life? How can an excess of joy benefit you and your walk with Christ? I pray you seek joy without limits, regardless of your life circumstances.

Thank you for joining us today. If you would like to learn more about OhSoFree Ministries, please visit us at www.ohsofreeministries.com/