Is It in You?

Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before You with open hearts and yielded spirits. We ask that You search us today—deeply, honestly, and lovingly. Remove every distraction, quiet every competing voice, and let Your Holy Spirit speak clearly to the places within us that need Your touch. Lord, reveal what is truly inside of us—our motives, our desires, our hidden struggles, our unspoken fears—and align them with Your will. As we read and reflect, let Your Word illuminate our hearts, cleanse our thoughts, and transform our character. Fill us afresh with Your Spirit so that what flows out of our lives brings You glory. Speak, Lord… Your servants are listening. Men.

There’s a familiar question heard in sports commercials: “Is it in you?" It’s meant to inspire athletes to push harder, dig deeper, and keep going. But spiritually, that same question reaches far deeper than physical endurance. Today, God is asking each of us a heart-level question:

“What is really in you?”

Not what you say…Not what you intend…But what is actually alive and operating inside your heart.

Because whatever is in you will eventually come out of you.

1. What’s Coming Out of You?

In Galatians 5:19–21, Paul lists the “deeds of the flesh”—the visible evidence of an inward condition that is not surrendered to the Spirit of God.

He names things like:

• immorality

• impurity

• jealousy

• strife

• anger

• envy

• drunkenness

• dissensions

• and “things like these”

Paul finishes with a solemn warning:

“Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Practice means to make these things a lifestyle—something you choose and embrace, not something you are fighting against or repenting of.

So again, the question returns:

Is this what’s in you?

2. What God Wants to See in You

After the list of the flesh, Paul immediately gives the contrasting evidence of a life controlled by the Holy Spirit:

• love

• joy

• peace

• patience

• kindness

• goodness

• faithfulness

• gentleness

• self-control

These are not self-improvement goals. These are not natural personality traits.

These are spiritual evidence—the natural result of someone walking closely with the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit is in you, His character shows up in places you could never produce on your own.

3. Pressure Reveals What’s Inside

A lemon doesn’t decide what comes out when it’s squeezed—only what’s already inside flows out. Life works the same way.

When you’re:

• irritated

• stressed

• misunderstood

• overwhelmed

• tempted

• disappointed

• tired

…your true internal condition rises to the surface.

If anger is in you, anger comes out. If jealousy is in you, jealousy comes out. If bitterness is in you, bitterness comes out. But if the Spirit is in you—grace comes out. Peace comes out. Self-control comes out.

Pressure does not create character. Pressure reveals character.

4. A Call to Look Within

Scripture tells us plainly:

“Examine yourselves… test yourselves… that Jesus Christ is in you.”— 2 Corinthians 13:5

This is not a call to self-condemnation. It is a call to self-awareness and alignment.

Ask yourself honestly:

• What has been coming out of me lately?

• What rises to the surface when things don’t go my way?

• What is revealed when I’m under pressure?

• What do my reactions say about what’s in me?

These questions aren’t meant to shame you—they’re meant to point you back to the Spirit.

5. How to Get the Right Things Inside You

You cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit by determination alone. But you can create the right environment for the Holy Spirit to work:

✔ Surrender Daily

Invite God to search your heart and remove anything that doesn’t look like Him.

✔ Stay in the Word

Scripture washes, purifies, and reshapes your inner life.

✔ Stay Filled With the Spirit

Ephesians 5:18 calls it a continuous filling.

✔ Practice Obedience

Fruit grows where obedience flows.

✔ Guard Your Environment

What you allow into your heart shapes what comes out of your life.

6. The Question God Is Asking You Today

Listen closely. God is whispering to you:

“My child… is My Spirit in you?”

“Is My love in you?”

“Is My peace in you?”

“Is My character living in you?”

The world doesn’t need more people who call themselves Christians. The world needs people who reveal Christ through what’s truly in them.

So once more, with love, conviction, and clarity, God asks:

“Is it in you?”

Father, examine my heart today. Show me what’s truly inside me. Uproot every work of the flesh, every motive, every thought, and every desire that is not like You. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit—so fully—that Your fruit becomes the natural overflow of my life. Let love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control be seen in everything I do. Make me more like You, from the inside out. In Jesus’ name, amen.

© Ron and Star Nelson — Sowing Seeds of Joy, Inc. All rights reserved. This blog and its contents are protected by copyright. No portion of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means—without prior written permission from the authors and Sowing Seeds of Joy, Inc.