I have decided to quit trying to love.  I am going to quit trying to be kind.  I am going to quit trying to be gentle.  I am going to quit trying to be good.  I am going to quit trying – period.  When I said this in a devotional being presented in front of a group, I could see the leader of the group just shaking his head.  He was probably ready to throw me out.

But, hear me out.  God doesn’t want us to try to be good, loving or kind.  Here’s the catch – are you ready for this?  He wants to do it for us!!!  How in the world is God going to do it for us?  God is love, He is kind, He is good.  And we are to be holy as God is holy, right?  But not by trying. I finally learned what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

In Galatians, Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit.  But how do we do that and how do we know when we are filled with the Spirit.  As close as I can tell, all we have to do is ask for the filling.  THEN, if we are filled with the Spirit and we are allowing the Spirit to live freely through us, we will be overflowing with the characteristics of the Spirit (the fruit of the Spirit).  Then, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control will be overflowing in our lives.  When a cup is full, it’s hard to keep the contents in without splashing over.  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the joy just overflows in our life and it splashes over and touches those around us.

During this past school year, I had twenty-two 4&5-year-olds in one class, 19 of them were boys.  Very early on, I knew I was going to need help – more than just more assistants.  I needed help to be gentle and kind when the little ones were still learning the ropes of what a classroom is all about.  So, every morning I prayed that the Holy Spirit would fill me so that I would be overflowing with all these characteristics of the Holy Spirit.  And, you know what?  He did.  It made life so much easier for me (and for the children), and I could quit trying and quit feeling stressed.  The Holy Spirit was doing it for me.