Feeling Off Spiritually? Here’s the Soul Checkup You Didn’t Know You Needed

Blog by Gem Fadling

When I go in for my yearly well-woman checkup, I’m trusting my doctor to check all my systems and let me know if I’m healthy. But before I meet with her, a nurse comes in to check my vitals.

The nurse checks my blood pressure, weight, height, and pulse. I also receive an online questionnaire every year before my checkup. Multiple questions are asked about my family history, current physical ailments, sleep patterns, medications I’m taking, and more.

All of this information is used in evaluating my current physical state.

I do find it interesting that the nurse doesn’t listen to my heart. This important task is reserved for the doctor. The doctor wants to hear for herself what is going on with my breathing and my heartbeat, two critical systems.

Unsurprisingly, my medical team doesn’t do all this so they can judge me. They do it so they can assess my health and help me.

This idea came to mind as I was pondering the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. For far too long, I thought of the fruit of the Spirit as a measuring stick to show me the ways in which I was not living up to God’s ideals: I’m not patient enough. What happened to my self-control? I should be more kind.

But the key word here is always fruit. Good fruit emerges when a tree or plant has been carefully tended—watered, fertilized, and nurtured. I don’t make apples; I tend the apple tree and fruit emerges. This is a much more compelling way to approach this.

If good fruit seems sparse in your life, it might be wise to assess, just like a doctor, what is going on in the state of your heart, mind, body, and soul.

Rather than seeing the fruit of the Spirit as a set of rules to keep or as a way for God to judge us, what if we instead saw it as a way of checking in with ourselves to see if how we are living is producing what we desire?

A good tree produces good fruit. I know it may be cheeky of me to say this, but if your fruit is sparse or rotting on the tree, it might be good to consider why.

Let’s look at Galatians 5:22-24 from The Message:

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.”

The fruit of the Spirit is not about legalistically measuring yourself. It’s about noticing if good fruit is naturally emerging from within as you tend your own soul with God.

Like a doctor listening to your heartbeat, the fruit of the Spirit is a good indicator of the state of your spiritual health.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Like a gardener or farmer tending an orchard, how might you make space for this fruit to emerge? What kinds of practices would form you?

It’s always good to pause, notice, and get the support you need to graciously correct course. Remember, none of us are perfect. We are all making our way in-process. And yet, you can notice whether the Spirit’s attributes are showing up in your day-to-day life.

Give thanks for the progress you’ve made and make space to till the soil of your soul in places you notice are underdeveloped. All of this is done in love, grace, and kindness.

Let’s allow Galatians 5:25-26 to encourage us toward taking holy action:

“Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.” (Message)

For Reflection:

I offer here one reflection question per fruit. Notice how God is already at work in your life. I invite you to print this and use it during one of your next quiet times, sabbaths, or retreats.

Love: Where in my life am I being invited to extend love more freely or courageously, even when it feels hard?

Joy: What small or hidden joy might I be overlooking that is already present in my life today?

Peace: In what area of my life am I longing for peace, and how might I cooperate with God to cultivate it?

Patience: Who or what is teaching me patience right now, and how might I embrace that growth opportunity rather than resist it?

Kindness: Where could a simple act of kindness, even one that goes unseen, make a meaningful difference this week?

Goodness: How am I being invited to live with greater integrity and goodness, especially when no one else is watching?

Faithfulness: What is one area of my life where staying faithful feels challenging, and what encouragement might God be offering me to persevere?

Gentleness: Where in my life or relationships would a spirit of gentleness instead of force or control bring healing?

Self-control: What desire or impulse might I need to surrender more fully to God’s guidance to live more freely and wisely?