Setting Our Default to the Fruit of the Spirit

Ever had your phone or computer crash? I have – and it’s frustrating! But thank goodness for default settings. Those settings are the the backup plan when everything goes haywire. Now, what about our default settings when life crashes in?

When pressure hits, what’s our go-to reaction? Do we panic, get snappy, go silent, or feel like a runaway freight train of emotion? Oh my goodness – I have the ability to go rogue and display all those emotions! Sometimes our default settings seem wired for negativity — complaining, stressing, or blowing a fuse. But here’s the good news: We can change those settings!

Just like our devices, we can hit the reset button and go back to the original settings — God’s settings. And wouldn’t it be great if our default was gratitude? Imagine if, when life hit hard, we naturally shifted to a place of thankfulness, seeing the silver lining instead of the storm cloud.

Gratitude changes everything. It adjusts our minds to think positively, our hearts to focus on what truly matters, our words to speak life, and our eyes to see the good. It’s like setting our souls to factory default — where God designed us to live in joy, peace, and thankfulness.

And here’s where it gets even better. God’s original settings are laid out for us in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Wouldn’t it be great if those were our default reactions? Love when we’re hurt. Joy when we’re stressed. Peace when chaos reigns. Patience when we’re waiting. Kindness when others are rude. Faithfulness when life is uncertain. Gentleness when we’re angry. Self-control when temptation knocks.

It takes practice and intention. But the more we hit the reset button and choose to operate from these settings, the more they’ll naturally become our go-to responses.

Let’s make a habit of resetting back to the Fruit of the Spirit. After all, we’re not called to be stuck in old, faulty settings. In Christ, we’re new creations!

2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Ready to hit that reset button? I sure am! Let’s grow fruitful from the inside out!!