Miriam was a leader among the women of Israel, chosen by God to be a prophetess.
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. Exodus 15:20
And yet she demonstrated a self-control problem. This should both comfort and warn us. The comfort would be in knowing that even a woman who speaks for God can make a mistake and be taken back in when she repents. The warning would be that if a woman who receives revelation directly from God can fall, so can we.
Some people have wills of iron while others seem to have a real problem sticking to a decision (or some might say being stubborn). Yet this characteristic of self-control is a requirement for pleasing God. What is interesting to me is that the self-control we are to add is actually a fruit of the Spirit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Gal. 5
So this kind of self-control isn't something you are born with - that you are naturally good at. This is something that happens as a result of your relationship with God. This is something EVERYONE can have.
Today's assignment: find two passages that talk about how to develop this kind of self-control and share them with the group.
1 comment:
I just wanted to let you know I'm trying to catch up by reading through the weeks' studies and the comments. I have totally spaced the last few weeks...I mean I COMPLETELY forgot about the study. I'm so sorry. As you can see, self-control is (I feel) my biggest issue to conquer in my life. I let this study slip through the cracks, as I continually let things do lately. I constantly feel as if I'm treading water and not getting anywhere...and lately I feel like I'm losing my energy to even tread, like I'm slowly sinking and I'm thrashing as hard as I can to keep my head above the water so as not to drown. I am not giving up, just frustrated and a little afraid of where my mind has gone...
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