TODAY’S VERSE:
2 Timothy 1:7 “…God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
The dictionary defines self-control as the ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions and desires or the expression of them in one’s behavior, especially in difficult situations.
Controlling ourselves is very important. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are His ambassadors here on Earth. We do not want to bring shame upon His name by being out of control, right? We want to make Him proud. To do this, we must control…
….what we think about,
Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
our emotions and how we express them,
Proverbs 14:29 “People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.”
what we say,
Proverbs 12:18 “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
and even how much we eat and drink.
Proverbs 25:27-28 It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
This sounds impossible, right? How are we, imperfect people, going to control all of our thoughts, words, and actions “especially in difficult situations”? Don’t worry, God knows that there is no way we could possibly follow all of His commands on our own. In fact, He promises in His Word that He will provide us help when we are tempted so we may avoid sinning against Him.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Not only that…
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
We know that as believers in Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us to teach, help, and guide us. These verses remind us that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. As with all of the fruit we have learned about, self-control is produced in us as we read our Bibles, pray, and obey God’s commands every day. As we continue to make these daily righteous decisions, God sanctifies us, making us more and more like Jesus. When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, words, and actions others will see His fruit in us.
What an amazing privilege and what amazing gifts God given us! It is our privilege, then, to share these gifts with others so that the world may see just how amazing He is.