How to Use the Fruits of the Spirit in Caregiving: Part 1

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Greetings!

I was thinking about how the Fruits of the Spirit equip us to give care gracefully, but I didn’t think I could do the topic justice. So, I asked my wonderful husband, Minister Ryan Turnage, to share with you all on this subject and he was gracious enough to do so. I truly enjoyed what he had to say about caregivers tapping into the power of the Fruits of the Spirit and I know you will too. So let’s jump right in.

Galatians 5:22-23; 25 (NASB 1995) says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

As you know all too well, caregiving is challenging.  Disciples of Jesus Christ have a remedy to life’s challenges. God has fulfilled the promise of giving us His Holy Spirit so that we may live a Godly, holy, and impactful life. 

Think about that! The presence of our almighty God who created all things dwells inside of us as believers in Jesus Christ. Romans 6:10-11 says the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in us.  WOW!!!  

With that being said, we wanted to encourage and comfort you with a post on the Fruit of the Spirit identified in Galatians.  There are nine distinct elements of fruit.

Cliff-hanger alert!! For the sake of space, we’ll just deal with the first 4 and come back in part 2 of this blog to discuss the next 5.  As you can tell from our blogs, our goal is to uplift and encourage you. This is not an exhaustive theological, deep-dive on Galatians 5:22.

A Little Background

First, we should talk context.  The apostle Paul describes the Fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the church at Galatia.  This was a church located in the central plain of Asia minor, near modern-day Turkey. Many believe that Paul founded the church at Galatia during his visits to Antioch, Lystra, and Derbe in Acts 16. 

Paul knew and loved these believers at Galatia in a pastoral way. In fact, he knew their challenges, hurdles, and persecution they faced. One of the major themes in Galatians is the new life believers have in Christ and how that new life brings about freedom to serve and exhibit a life led by God’s Holy Spirit.  That brings us to the Fruit of the Spirit.

In Galatians 5:22, the Greek word for fruit, karpos, means fruit…nothing magical about that.  Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible says, this fruit is the manifest evidence one may expect from a life in which the Spirit of God is living and reigning. 

Notice, you cannot separate this fruit from the Spirit of God.  This can be thought of as an equation.

Spirit of God + Believer in Christ=Fruit

You cannot be a believer of Jesus Christ and not display this fruit. Jesus used the phrase karpos in Matthew 7:17.  He says, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 

Now that we have some context to guide our discussion, let’s talk about the first four expressions of this fruit.

LOVE

Love is the starting point.  Love in this section is the Greek word agape, which has always been understood to represent God’s love.  This is the same love that describes Jesus’ love for His church.  This is self-sacrificing, “lay down my life” love that can only originate with God and from God’s power. 

Notice how humbling this should be for our lives. When God assigns you as a caregiver to those in need, allow the Spirit of God to raise up supernatural expressions of love through you.  Your loved ones and those who receive your care need to feel the love of God.

If you are in Christ, you have everything you need to give this God expression of love. You have freedom in Christ to love without fear of rejection, people taking advantage of you, or any other challenge that stands in the way of you living a God-led life.

Strengthen your heart with these Scriptures that describe agape. 

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). 

“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).  “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.” (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Did you know that through the Spirit of God, you possess the same love that led Christ to die for sinful humanity?  Walk in the power of love that God has given you. You can give supernatural love to your loved ones.

JOY

The second expression is joy.  Joy is God-given gladness that leads to rejoicing and thankfulness.  When you provide care, as best you can, operate in joy and gladness. 

God has given each one of us gifts and assignments. In His providence and divine plan, God has placed you in the lives of people who need you.  You share precious moments with people, sometimes in the final chapter in their life and undoubtedly during the most difficult times on earth. Know that those encounters that drain us the most require us to strengthen ourselves in our joy.  

The prophet Nehemiah wrote, the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).  Have you ever stopped to consider the context? Nehemiah was written just after the Israelites had come out of captivity and suffered devastation from the Babylonians. 

They were in a time period of desolation and Jerusalem had been destroyed. During Nehemiah’s time, they were rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem, which symbolized a rebuilding and restoration of their relationship with Yahweh, their God.  The people began reading God’s Word again and in response to reading God’s Word, Ezra, the priest, tells the people of God, the joy of the Lord is your strength.  

That Scripture teaches us that no matter what is before us, the joy of our God will strengthen us.  Pause and consider. God placed you in the lives of those around you to exhibit joy that is not dependent on your circumstances.  You have an internal source of joy from God that transcends life experiences. Share that joy!

PEACE

Have you ever encountered anxiety?  Within yourself or others? Anxiety, worrying, fear, restlessness all have a common remedy—PEACE. 

God has set you up to live in peace. You have access to perpetual peace and a right-now peace. If you find yourself in turmoil, quiet your mind, meditate on God’s Word and pray. 

Christ said He would give us peace, but not the type of peace the world gives, but a peace that comes from Him. A perpetual peace. First, as a believer in Christ, you have peace with God. 

The Bible describes us as enemies of God prior to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but we now have a restored/reconciled relationship with God. We are no longer at war with God, but have the eternal hope of peace.

Wait.  That’s not all.  Not only do we have eternal peace, but we also have right-now, immediate access to peace.  Remember the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Book of Daniel? When they were placed in the fiery furnace, not only should they have been dead, they should have been terrified.  The Bible says they were walking around in the flames of the furnace and Jesus was with them in the furnace.

Don’t forget the point of this message, we have the Spirit of God dwelling inside of us.  We have the peace of the Holy Spirit resting inside of us. We only need to yield to His power.

Caregiving requires nimbleness.  You have to be swift in providing care and you have to react to challenges immediately with grace.  Rely on the Spirit within you to give you peace as you weave through challenges.

The pressure of caregiving can seem chaotic and hectic.  Jesus gave you His peace that resides within you. That same peace from Jesus will carry you through situations where you have no strength and everything around looks like pure turmoil.  Jesus will be your peace.

PATIENCE

I mentioned anxiety earlier.  Have you ever been close to ending a caregiving session and you just want to breeze your way through or just throw in the towel?  Sure. We have all been there.

My prayer is that you stay the course and finish strong. Patience will lead you to a strong finish.  Makrothymia is the Greek word for patience in this section.  It is interchangeable with forbearance.

Forbearance is a common theme in God’s word for bearing the burdens of one another.  Another word for this concept is “long-suffering,” again painting the picture of loving others through difficult times and disagreements.

You need patience.  The good news is God has given the ability to endure with supernatural patience.  Even if the people who receive your care are not Christian believers, you have the ability to show this supernatural patience. 

My prayer for you is that you display stubborn and tenacious patience in your caregiving. People often think of tenacity as uncontrolled aggression.  Tenacity is actually a problem-solving attribute where an individual uses ingenuity and strategy to attack a problem at all angles to find a resolution. 

As a caregiver, you find solutions to deliver excellent care. Patience will allow you to strategize and consider multiple approaches to provide supernatural care.  Please strengthen yourself by drawing living water from the fountain of patience that God has placed inside of you.

I hate to leave you on this note, but please look out for part two of this blog on the Fruit of the Spirit.  Let’s pray.

Father, we thank you for this time we have shared together.  Before I ask for anything, I ask that you would forgive me and give me the power to repent and turn from behavior that is not like you.  There are times when I feel distant from your Spirit and presence. There are times when I am weak and weary and I feel as if the weight of the world is on me because of this assignment that you have given me.  The assignment to provide care. Father, it may sound strange, but I thank you for my human frailty. You have told me that in my weakness, your strength is made perfect. With that in mind and praise in heart, Father I thank you for your Spirit.  I thank you and I ask that you would raise up your Fruit in me. Father let it rise up inside of me and come flowing out of my life. I pray that your fruit of love, joy, peace, and patience reign and have their perfect work in my life. Father, I know you are able, willing, and gracious to strengthen me.  Thank you, Father, for leading me and allowing me to live a life of caregiving gracefully. Amen.

If you enjoyed this post and don’t want to miss part 2, subscribe to the Caregiving Gracefully Newsletter (Spoiler Alert: FREE Gift included). Don’t forget to like, pin, and share. We would love to hear from you in the comments or email me at stephanie@caregivinggracefully.com.

Be Blessed,

Ryan and Stephanie

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