Self-Control

You know those lazy days where your alarm goes off, but you don't really have any place to be so you pick up your phone and visit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram... just to find out not much happened while you were asleep.  So you casually fall back asleep for an extra 30 minutes, only then having to force yourself out of the bed because now you're more tired then when your alarm first went of....yep.  I'll be the first to admit that's me.  (On a weekly basis now that classes are over!)

Even though that may happen and no one knows about it, when does it say about my self-control?  What does the action of not being able to control my morning habits say about myself?

For those of you that read my blog, you know that my last post was about how the Lord is teaching me about the fruits of the spirit.  First up was self-control.  For the past twenty or so days, I've been studying the word to see what it says about developing biblical self-control.

A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls. Proverbs 25:26

As there are fruits of the spirit, there are also fruits of self-control.

We'd all like to say we are good at each of these things, but are we really?

When it boils down to it, self-control is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done.  Like getting out of bed and not pressing the snooze button.

During the time I was studying self-control, I really wasn't getting the sweet fruit I thought I was biting into.  Instead, I was forced to take an internal look at pretty much everything I do wrong.  FUN.  I looked at what I perceived as my self-control and asked the simple question - did the self-control that I thought I had have the fruits in the list above?  Do I manage my money well?  Ehhh, probably didn't need to buy new shoes last week.  Do I stick to a schedule?  Spontaneity is not bad, as long as everything that needs to be done is done.  And whyyy can I not break the habit of biting my nails?!  Is my self-control lacking so much that I can't even put up with the simple urge to bite my nails when I'm nervous?  REALLY?!  (Reality check.)

In Hebrews 12, the Lord talks about how he disciplines the ones He loves..  Y'all, why do we always think we need to figure out the root and reason why the Lord is disciplining us?  What if the reason isn't because we did or are doing something wrong, but simply to mold us and shape us into a stronger leader for Him?

As Americans, we tend to take this season of discipline like a time out.  And since we live in a self-centered world, we think, 'oh great, time our for ME to think about whats wrong with ME, oh poor pitiful ME.'  No!  It's about our personalities being molded to be more like him.  I tell ya what, I haven't met anyone with as much self-control as Jesus.  He resisted all sin.  Now that's self-control y'all.

If you are in a current season of discipline (like me!), don't look at this time as painful.  REJOICE PEOPLE! Self-control is a necessary to live out all of the other fruits of the spirit.  How do we love without self-control?  How we do have peace without self-control?  How do we have kindness without self-control?  Same for each of the other fruits of the spirit.  It just ain't possible!

Why do we need self-control?  The Lord literally calls us to DIE to ourselves for him.

I encourage you to ask yourself that question and let the Lord reveal that to you during the rest of this week.

Have a reviving day!

Caitlin