Practicing Self Control

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. —1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

Growing up in church, I was often exposed to hearing about the fruits of the Spirit. Many Sunday school classes had felt boards with pictures of fruit, each representing different fruits of the spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV).

We know that as Christians we are to be people who show love, display joy, and bring peace to hard situations. However, one of the fruits of the Spirit often gets overlooked—self-control. Maybe you are someone who prides yourself on having a good sense of self-control, or maybe you are someone who struggles in this area. No matter where you are on the spectrum, the truth is that we all could afford to grow in this area.

There was a time in my life when I didn’t have a very good grasp on self-control when it came to food. I was a sugar addict, and there were days I would eat an entire pound of chocolate in one day! My lack of self-control would come back to haunt me the next day when I would wake up feeling groggy and sick from all the sugar that I had consumed. When you’re not feeling well, it’s easy to take it out on your family or your spouse, which then causes them to feel unvalued. Lack of self-control can cause a vicious cycle in our lives and affect those around us.

 When I began this journey toward health, I quickly learned that practicing self-control was going to be a huge aspect of this journey. My ability to control my earthly desires for sugar, carbs, and diet soda was going to either make or break this journey for me. In these moments, I had to quiet my heart and focus on my “Why.” My “Why” is what gave me the ability to utilize self-control and say “no” to temptations and “yes” to health and wholeness.

We weren’t created to feel powerless and weak! The Spirit lives within us and a fruit of the Spirit is self-control!

Body

 What areas in your life could you use more self-control in? Take a moment to think about those areas and how having a lack of self-control negatively affects aspects of your life. Now imagine the ways practicing self-control could help positively affect your life. In your journal, write a short paragraph of how your life could look different in a month, a year, and five years from now if you focused on stewarding self-control. This will be a great reminder tool for those moments when you feel like giving up and throwing self-control out the window.

Soul

We weren’t created to feel powerless and weak! The Bible says that the Spirit lives within us and a fruit of the Spirit is self-control! Learning how to manage our earthly desires will help bring us into a great part of our destiny.

Spirit

Father, thank You for the gift of self-control! I thank You for giving me the power and ability to manage my cravings and desires. I ask that my desires will align with Your desires for me and that together we can move forward into greater blessings and increase as I learn to manage self-control in my life.