“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galations:5:22 NIV).
If you were to rate yourself between 1 to 10, with ten being totally self-controlled, what rating would you give yourself? I believe that of all the fruits, patience and self-control is the most difficult to practice consistently. For me self-control is centered on goodies that I shouldn’t be eating. If Satan would have dangled a HO-HO under my nose and said, “God said this wasn’t good for you, but he really didn’t mean it and it won’t really kill you,” I would have grabbed it in a minute and gobbled it up. I guess I can sympathize with Eve a little on that fruit that she was deceived to eat. Unfortunately, I’m not so keen on fruit, but if you have anything sweet in sight I will devour it in a minute. Self-control in this area is very difficult for me. My goal this summer is to eat healthier so that I can live longer to serve the Lord. That is a challenge for me.
If you lack self-control in an area of your life like me and are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit to help you. Self-control is so important because anything that means more to you than the Lord is a sin and needs to be dealt with in a serious way. You need to pray that the Lord will help you have self-control in situations where you know you are weak. Lack of self-control in any area of your life needs to be brought before the Lord in prayer. You can call on the Lord’s strength when yours is gone. You must say no when you are tempted to do something you know will be harmful. The Holy Spirit will help you: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26 NIV). The most important thing to know is that you must have an on-going relationship with Christ, and pray daily in order to acquire the help you need.
Dear Lord,
Sometimes it is so difficult to have self-control. Please help me to rely on the Holy Spirit when I’m tempted to give in and do things that aren’t pleasing to you. I want to be healthy so that I can serve you a long time. Give me your strength when I am weak.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
