Serving brings healing and restoration or Serving fruit brings restoration

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

copyright July 2021

Isat on my back porch watching a roadrunner zip by and baby bunnies hop across the field. I pondered my problem and began talking to God about it. I am so glad he is never too busy to visit with me and is my helper in times of trouble.

Psalms 46:1 (NIV) reads, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Running to him is always the best thing to do to find strength.

I usually let things roll off my back and do not get my feelings hurt very often, but an event with someone left me a little bruised and upset.

“Lord, you saw what happened,” I softly said to God.

Just as I uttered the words, I remembered a statement I heard years ago.

“You don’t have a right to be hurt; you have a right to be healed.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt like I was right in this situation and felt misunderstood. I wanted to nurse my hurt a little before I really turned it over to Jesus for healing.

Years ago in my life, I thought it was OK to hang on to hurt and offenses for a little while, but as I’ve matured in life and my walk with the Lord, I know that is not the best thing for me or the situation.

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

We put ourselves in a win-win situation when we practice these attributes and give them to people. And let me just say, it takes lots of practice.

The fruit of the Spirit is how God wants us to live. He has given them to us to govern our lives, and when we live in them, we stay in step with him. Most of all, I feel God wants us to give them away to others to touch their lives.

I felt God ask me, “Kathleen, what fruit do you need to serve in this situation?”

Once again, I released a deep sigh. I wasn’t sure I wanted to serve anything to anybody, but I quickly let go of that thought as I thought of God’s patience and love.

“Well, God, it needs love; I can be loving like you,” I muttered, still struggling. “I can serve patience, because you have been patient with me and I can give self-control, even though I do not feel like it. Change my heart, God.”

Everything in our lives is about us being conformed and changed into the image of God. He uses everything in our lives, the good things and the hard things. I also realized I could serve some gentleness in my approach to this person and could defuse defensiveness, create a pathway for communication and restoration.

When I lay down my right to be right and ask God to help me see things from his perspective, steps toward restoration are always made.

What about you? Do you examine your heart in situations and ask God where it needs to change?

Not long after my conversation with God, I arranged to meet this person, as it is usually better to address situations soon so walls do not build in the relationship.

“God, give me your heart, grace and power to serve the fruit of your spirit well and say healing words,” I prayed.

As we met, I gently stated my love for the person, my desire for restoration and to hear their perspective. I saw the situation begin to change. I saw where I needed to be more patient and let God work on the situation instead of me. As I served with self-control, kindness and love, things changed, and there was a beautiful restoration.

What fruit do you need to serve to others around you? God is right there to help you, to change you, your conflict or tough situation. Let’s get busy and practice serving fruit.

Kathleen is a Hill Country author, writer, speaker and podcaster. She is passionate about helping people bring God into their everyday life. She can be reached at [email protected]. To purchase her book or listen to her podcast, visit her website, www.kathleenmaxwellrambie.com.

I sat on my back porch watching a roadrunner zip by and baby bunnies hop across the field. I pondered my problem and began talking to God about it. I am so glad he is never too busy to visit with me and is my helper in times of trouble.

Psalms 46:1 (NIV) says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Running to him is always the best thing to do to find strength.

I usually let things roll off my back and do not get my feelings hurt very often, but an event with someone left me a little bruised and upset. “Lord you saw what happened,” I softly said to God.

Just as I uttered the words, I remembered a statement I heard years ago. “You don’t have a right to be hurt, you have a right to be healed.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt like I was right in this situation and felt misunderstood. I wanted to nurse my hurt a little before I really turned it over to Jesus for healing.

Years ago in my life, I thought it was OK to hang on to hurt and offenses for a little while, but as I’ve matured in life and my walk with the Lord, I know that is not the best thing for me or the situation.

Galatians 5:22 (NIV) says, “For the fruit of the Spirit, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such there is no law.” We put ourselves in a win-win situation when we practice these attributes and give them to people. And let me just say, it takes lots of practice.

The fruit of the Spirit is how God wants us to live. He has given them to us to govern our lives and when we live in them; we stay in step with him. Most of all, I feel God wants us to give them away to others to touch their lives.

I felt God ask me, “Kathleen, what fruit do you need to serve in this situation?” Once again, I released a deep sigh. I wasn’t sure I wanted to serve anything to anybody, but I quickly let go of that thought as I thought of God’s patience and love.

“Well God, it needs love; I can be loving like you.” I muttered, still struggling. “I can serve patience because you have been patient with me, and I can give self-control, even though I do not feel like it,” I continued to pray. “Change my heart God.”

I began to ask God to help me to love like he does, pour patience over the situation and to exercise self-control instead of doing what I felt like doing. Everything in our lives is about us being conformed and changed into the image of God. He uses everything in our lives, the good things and the hard things. I also realized I could serve some gentleness in my approach to this person and that could defuse defensiveness, create a pathway for communication and restoration.

When I lay down my right to be right and ask God to help me see things from his perspective, forward steps toward restoration are always made. What about you? Do you examine your heart in situations and ask God where it needs to change?

Not long after my conversation with God, I arranged to meet this person, as it is usually better to address situations soon so walls do not build in the relationship.

“God give me your heart, grace and power to serve the fruit of your spirit well and say healing words,” I prayed.

As we met, I gently stated my love for the person, my desire for restoration and wanted to hear their perspective. I saw the situation begin to change. I saw where I needed to be more patient and let God work on the situation instead of me. As I served with self-control, kindness and love, things changed and there was a beautiful restoration.

What fruit do you need to serve to others around you? God is right there to help you, to change you, your conflict or tough situation. Let’s get busy and practice serving fruit.

Kathleen is a Hill Country author, writer, speaker and podcaster. She is passionate about helping people bring God into their everyday life. She can be reached at[email protected]. To purchase her book or listen to her podcast, visit her website, www.kathleenmaxwellrambie.com