God in His wisdom saved the best for last.....for me it can be the toughest. Self-control is being healthy-minded. Self-control takes total surrender and cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 25:28 -"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man/woman who lacks self-control."
In the Message it says - "A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out."
In The NKJV it says - "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls."
I struggle in this area especially when I feel under pressure or when I get frustrated. It makes me think of those juice boxes for kids.....when you squeeze it too fast or hard all of the juice sprays all over. If I wasn't careful whenever I would hand this delicious juice to one of the girls, if they would squeeze it too hard it would make a mess. Then someone (probably a mom) invented these nifty containers to hold the juice called "Juice Box Buddies".
This is so much like my own life and trying
to keep my spirit under the control of the Holy Spirit. Just like this "Juice Box Buddy" self-control hems us about, protecting us from losing ground to impatience, bitterness, anger, greed, anxiety, rudeness, unkindness or anything else that can cause us to lose contol and make a sticky mess. Self-control is a healthy-mindedness that watches for any holes in the walls of our lives and keeps them patched. Sometimes I see the holes in the wall of my life and I try other things to patch them.....eating, shopping, ignoring the hole....and just like a row of dominoes giving way, a hole appears in the wall around our lives and if ignored can grow larger with each temptation until it gives way to a hole large enough to burst through with ugliness. Too weary to fight we think my life is just a mess and out of control, how can I ever grow the fruit of self-control in my life.
It's never too late to repair the wall. To live a life surrendered to Christ.....because it is only in Christ that we have Hope! The fruit of self-control like all spiritual fruit is grwn by God in our lives. Today is a brand new day....that is what is so great about God - He doesn't give up on us, so we don't have to give up on ourselves.
Lamentations 3:22-24 - "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
Romans 12:1-2 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
A life that matters is a life that stays connected to God. If I am not connected I am not growing in the fruit of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Think healthy-minded to all areas of your life. Start small.....pick one hole to patch at a time. Don't try to tackle everything at once, one day at a time!
Take a walk around the wall of your life and ask the Lord to show you if you have any holes that need to be patched with the power of His Word. What areas are you lacking in self-control?
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