I’m Gonna Hold My Peace

It’s So Simply that it’s Not

Galatians chapter 5 is one of the easiest passages to digest when reading. It is very straightforward. The back end of the passage is quite possibly the easiest part of the easiest part. There’s no way you can mess up the instruction and identification between the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. There are, however, far reaching implications of what happens when we don’t adhere to these principles, leaving us to deal with issues running rampant in our social systems, church circles, and society on the whole. It’s about time that people begin addressing it. I’m happy to be a part of the folks that does. Where do we begin??

Believe it or not, It’s the same for us today. Whether it’s the comfort of tradition, the desire to please people, or the fear of getting it wrong, we’re often tempted to retreat to rules instead of relying on relationship. But when God calls us out of bondage, He never intends for us to return. What once held us captive has no authority in the new life God has called us to live. Never forget how horrible Egypt truly was!

Emotions Aren’t Enemies

Ahh yes…with emotions. These are things that God implanted in us as part of our creation process. Lemme be clear. This was no accident and God doesn’t make mistakes.  He didn’t wire us with feelings that He expected us to suppress. Emotions in and of themselves aren’t bad, but unprocessed emotions are dangerous and this is where our issues begin.

We live in a world that encourages avoiding processing emotions. The problem is not having feelings; it’s not knowing what to do with them. This happens for a variety of reasons, but what it usually boils down to is we comply with the lie that we need to abide in a system of social codes…given to us by mere mortals that did not create us, and ultimately deny the very good thing that God, our actual creator, gifted to us. You will never be able to make that make sense to me. Thankfully, that’s where the Holy Spirit steps in. Jesus Himself felt allll the things: anger at the Pharisees. Anger at the disciples! Sadness at the loss of His friend Lazarus. Angst and anguish in the garden of Gethsemane! And yet somehow, despite all of this, He was able to do something we would think impossible, miraculous in our current culture: He was able to hold His peace. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. And in this discovery, we suffocate the misinformation that emotions and the fruit of the Spirit can’t live in the same house. They most certainly can. You can feel rage and still be ruled by peace. You can be heartbroken and still exude joy. You can be anxious and still act out love. That’s the paradox the world doesn’t understand. But that’s the power of walking in the Spirit.

The Fruit Is the Focus

It’s easy to fixate on sin—trying not to do “the wrong thing,” trying to avoid the temptation—but Galatians makes something clear: our attention shouldn't be on sin management but on fruit cultivation. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—this is the harvest we’re after.

And how do we grow it? By keeping our focus on Jesus. When we focus on God, eventually discover that other things simply don’t seem to matter. We can detach from needs and desires we find in approval from others, accolades not attached to our purpose, and yes…even desires of the flesh. Also, and equally as important, when we focus on Him we tend to our soul. Doing that, in practice, means solitude. It means meditation (I know. I’m speaking French to many with this. I apologize on behalf of any pastor that didn’t emphasize that for you…I said what I said.).It means silence. It means deep prayer. These practices water the soil of our hearts. And when the storms of life come—when anger flares, when injustice breaks your heart, when anxiety swells—you respond not from your flesh, but from the fruit you've been faithfully growing. That’s when peace holds you, even in chaos. Just like Jesus, who frequently withdrew from all just to spend time with God and tend to His soul.

Compassion That Can’t Be Contained

The world doesn’t need more opinions—it needs compassion. Real, Spirit-led compassion that isn’t reactive but redemptive. That’s what Jesus showed us. Every time He looked at the crowd, He didn’t see problems. He saw people. And His peace wasn’t passive—it moved Him to heal, to feed, to restore. If we’re truly walking in the Spirit, we won’t just feel compassion, we’ll act on it. But here’s the secret: you can’t give what you don’t have. Many in our culture, believers included, suffer from compassion fatigue. They’re simply too exhausted to care…or so they think. That’s why love, joy, PEACE…that’s why working to submit our emotions to/place them under all of the Fruit matters. When you’re grounded in God’s shalom—His wholeness—you’ll naturally overflow into the lives of others. You’ll hold your peace, not just to keep calm, but to be a vessel of restoration in a broken world.

Be one who decides every day that you’re gonna hold your peace.

One Love,
JRNB

— Jordan Brown

Pastor (Ministries and Outreach) [OV] Church