Today let's think about things that get in the way of self-control. Some are subtle. Some are obvious. For example:
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”:[b] do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. Eph. 4:26
Here is an explicit warning - anger can cause a lack of self-control. You can see a real war between the spirit and flesh when it comes to this characteristic - self-control. With anger, it is an emotional battle. The flesh is so strong! Yet no matter how strongly it demands or pulls, we still have control through God's strength. In this case, the answer is to deal with the issue before the sun goes down. Solve it, don't stuff it. And that takes self-control too! And faith. Do you see how faith is the basis? Do you believe what God says in dealing with anger? Can you give over your control to His? Ultimately self-control is God-control.
Today's assignment: find two passages that deal with things that get in the way of self-control.
2 comments:
My biggest obstacle in not letting the sun go down on my anger is without a doubt FEAR. I'm afraid of conflict, I'm afraid that whomever I disagree with will resent me, or that our disagreement will affect our relationship permanently. I'm afraid that even if I confront the issue in a Godly way, that the other person will not and that the fallout will be worse than whatever we're disagreeing about in the first place.
Because of my fear, I talk myself out of confrontation -- I even convince myself that addressing the issue right away shows a LACK of self control -- that what I need is time to really think over the best way to respond. (Of course, that isn't true: it leads to stewing and sleeplessness and further avoidance.)
So clearly, I've identified TWO problems -- FEAR and a lack of TRUST. These scriptures remind me that whatever a human might do, GOD needs me to trust Him and do what he says.
Here are my verses:
Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 22:8 "“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Nice explanation, Jen. Fear and lack of trust are two of my "biggies" also. We must be very much alike! Trusting the Lord is one of the "3X5"'s I'm working on right now.
I know those two things are 2 of the factors in my continuing struggle with self-control.
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