Raisins Or Grapes

...for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation... Psalm 51:12

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy... Galatians 5:22

   Now we notice here that the connection seems to be joy. David asked for his joy to be restored. Why? because our strength comes from the joy of serving the Lord. The joy is a fruit of the spirit. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The branches are what bears the fruit. The sap or juice (the Holy Spirit) comes from the vine into the branches and into the fruit. The juice is what makes the fruit good. A grape is a fruit that is full of juice. It can quench your thirst and also fill your hunger. If a fruit is dried up then it only cures the hunger, not the thirst. A grape will do both, a raisin only cures the hunger.
   In Matthew 5:6, it tells us, "Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." Now this tells me I am supposed to be both hungry and thirsty for the fruits, so I want to bear the fruits that have the juice in them. I want to have fruits that people desire to have so they can come and be grafted into this true vine. I want to show joy and stay strong in the Lord.
   So I ask you today, which do you want to be? A raisin or a grape