“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

God's purpose behind every change in your life is to make you more like Jesus.

The promise of Romans 8:28 is wonderful: “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT). But it doesn't fully make sense until you read the next verse: "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son" (Romans 8:29 NLT).

God doesn't just want you in his family. He also wants you to develop the family characteristics of a child of God. He wants you to grow spiritually. And your model for maturity is Jesus.

So what is Jesus like? The best picture of Jesus’ character is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (ESV).

God produces that kind of fruit in you by putting you in situations that require you to learn and practice those character qualities.

You don’t learn kindness when you’re around nice people; you don’t learn contentment when you have everything you want.

So when God wants to teach you to be more loving, he doesn’t put you around people who are easy to love; he puts you around people who are hard to love—people who I call “holy sandpaper.”

Anybody can be happy when everything's going their way. But God teaches you true joy in the middle of suffering, grief, and heartbreak.           

It's easy to be at peace when there’s no struggle in your life. When God teaches you peace, he'll allow chaos and conflict to teach you the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7).   

How does God teach you patience? By placing you in long lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles or at a delayed doctor appointment. Anytime you have to wait, God is making you more like Jesus. 

Life and change are not always easy, but the big and small ways you’re growing in spiritual maturity will make it worth it.