What is your personality type? How would you describe it to me? Better yet, just give me your Facebook page link I could probably tell a lot from that right? We are all different, with different opinions, perspectives, experiences and beliefs. I’ll give you an example, I grew up in the South Bronx, N.Y. My family was loud, they snapped at each other all the time, we laughed loud and argued….LOUD. It’s highly likely that I naturally inherited these personality traits growing up. So, like myself, you can put yourself in this scenario and get the idea. Lot’s of different things shape our personalities.

Here is something you might not know, your personality isn’t permanently shaped…if you don’t want it to be. The good qualities may need to be refined but I am talking about the not so pleasant stuff…harshness, pride, anger, etc… Ok, here comes the bate and switch now, get ready, the personality equalizer is……The Holy Spirit. When you allow God’s presence into your life, your uneven personality is submitted to who he is and you are made completely NEW…in the image, he eternally created for you. Isn’t that great news?

There are nine listed fruits of the Spirit but other’s can easily be attributed to him,being the third person in the trinity…such as holiness and humility(demonstrated through Christ himself). Let’s look at them:

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control.” Galations 5:22,23

The Bible is so practical and in this passage it reveals that through a sincere and real relationship with Christ, his Spirit begins to sort of “rub off on us” and the fruits listed are the results. Listen, THIS IS GREAT NEWS for us. If you suffer from anger, rage, lack of self-control, rudeness, sadness, impatience….the Spirit of God can change that. He can change all of it. What I seem to see it see, read and hear is that people accept these negative personality traits we get from experiences, environment and upbringing and they just sort of feel, they can NEVER change and this isn’t true.

Two real examples:

1. Peter the disciple- Peter was outspoken, rude at times, prideful and suffered from anger (he cut a guys ear off once), yet after Jesus resurrected he(Peter) receives the “power of the Holy Spirit” (THIS IS THE KEY TO CHANGE)…. All of a sudden he’s talking about gentleness, honor, humility, kindness.…who does this guy? HOw did this happen? Who can change a person’s personality like this? Only the Lord. The other example is 2. Me- By this I am NOT saying I am perfect, nope, God is still working but I used to be  snappy person, anger was very easy for me, rudeness I had down to a science and could use it to agravate anyone I wanted at any time. I gotta tell ya, The Holy spirit is the real deal, my personality has changed and continues to change and it’s all due to my relationship with Christ through his Spirit and the revelation of his word.

There is lot’s of work to be done in my one life but I just want to encourage you today, you can change but you cat do it yourself. You gotta grab hold of a real, daily, constant, moment to moment relationship with Christ through his Spirit, his Spirit does the work in us, not relaxation classes, not sitting in silence taking deep breaths, his Spirit does the work. I am so thankful for his promise to us, my life verse is this: “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6

“Please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place” Genesis 40:14

This post took me some time to try to articulate but I want to make a case here for why I’ve written it. It is fairly easy these days to see people wanting favors, some really easy examples include things like the NBA. Look at a basketball player trying to defend another player and look for the infamous “flop“…this is their way of trying to get the officials to give them the call, instead of just digging in deeper, putting their effort into they they hope for an official to give them a break. Let’s look at the NFL, ever see a wide receiver try to make a catch and couldn’t bring it in, after a defender played them well and what do you see? A grown man, in front of thousands of people and on TV waiving his hands in the air for a “flag“…looking for a break. Hey, this happens at the work place too, you might meet someone of influence or of position and after meeting them you might slip them your card and say…”Put in a good word for me, ” just different ways we are all seeking favors from people instead of trusting the process.

I am not a fan of favors, at least not anymore now, I personally resist asking for them and it sort of concerns me when people ask them of me, there is always an ulterior motive yet to be revealed when it happens. Here are three major reasons why I feel this way.

1. Trust God in the process- When Joseph ended up in prison, he was placed there, ultimately by God if you believe, like I do that He is sovereign. As Joseph was there he still had the chance to serve others and trust God, he interpreted dreams there but after he did this he asked for a favor, he asked the Butler to “put in a good word” with the head hancho. If God has you somewhere, you need to trust HIM in the process, God is sovereign, he will remind whom ever needs to be reminded of you or he will put it in someones heart to get in touch with you.

2. Learn from God in the process- Another general reason I am just not in favor…of asking favors is, we ultimately rob ourselves from learning all there is to learn. Joseph, although he was learning and growing he still hadn’t gotten the full revelation for why he was still there, God was always with him and wanted him to trust him yet again. Sometimes we forget that and start asking people to help us out, instead of always going straight to God. Let me encourage you today, learn from everything right now, take it all in and thank God for all of it because his purpose and plan will be complete when the process has been accomplished in you.

3. Mature with God through the process- For years I felt really bad about Josephs story, I felt like he was the victim. I am not minimizing the pain he had to endure or agreeing with what his brothers did to him but the truth is, God had this massive plan and wanted to trust Joseph with a major responsibility, he revealed this to him at a young age but Joseph’s character wasn’t mature yet. God did Joseph and all the people of Israel and egypt a favor in fact, talking of favors, he made sure Joseph matured…because later he would be trusted to keep people from starving and dying through his leadership. Joseph stored up food years and years before a famine hit and it was through him that many lives were saved. Trust me, mature through the process.

Here is what I have learned about me, if pride is alive and well in me…I am usually looking out for ME first and sometimes I think when we ask favors, it’s our pride saying “hey, look out for me” instead of trusting God to look out for us. It’s hard I know, it’s really tempting too to have an opportunity before you without asking for a favor but I want to encourage you, stay humble, trust the Lord, his word says “he exalts the humble”….that tells me, God himself will raise you up in due time. Put the time in, trust him in the process.