Dear sister,
Greetings in the grace and peace of our dear Lord and Savior! I pray you are finding joy in the journey, even as you struggle with this topic of self-control. It is one that has perhaps been lost from the dialogue of our culture. Control myself, what? The idea of controlling any of our selfish and self-centered appetites seems to be beyond what should be expected of the average American. Forgive me for my strong words, but do you not agree? Is not a lack of self-control the very evil that plagues our government, as their spending catapults us all nearer every day to disaster? I pray that it will not be so, but it seems that even our leaders are blind to the fact that taming our desires will bring the joy we crave, rather than giving in to every whim and fancy, be it labeled ‘benevolent and/or necessary’ or not.
With that being said, I dare say you shudder at the thought of your own fleshly desires taking control of the Spirit-led nature you hope to foster. Certainly, though you struggle, you are cognizant of the calling we have as Christians, to be controlled by our blessed Master and the Spirit He has left in us to guide and direct us while on this earthly journey. I urge you to recall the proverb, chapter 25, and verse 28, “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” (NIV) I do hope and pray that the walls of your soul are not ‘broken through’ as a result of your own careless whims. How deceitful is the sin that lives within us! We are so easily led astray, and I know that I, for one, can so easily justify my actions and thoughts, rather than submit them to Christ.
But is not self-control restrictive, you protest? Ah, yes. I understand. I really do. This concern had been one of my own in years past; particularly as I thought about how I would someday submit to a husband. Will he not tell me every small thing that I must do? Will he micro-manage my day, my life? Will I not be my own person any longer? And from this side of that altar, I do say, submission to my husband and Christ is better than any freedom I ever had as ‘my own person’. I will argue this point to any modern woman who declares she will never allow a man to ‘tell her how to live’…and though my dear husband is imperfect, I have experienced that it is much better to trust his leading as guided by Christ, than to insist on my own way. Just the same, I feel this is the battle we face with self-control. Will we live according to our own fleshly desires, or submit to our Maker and Husband, Jesus Christ, who endured the horrible cross to make us his own?
I have been meditating on the Cross, and its beauty, as expressed in our Savior Jesus Christ. Read with me in Philippians 2:5-11:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (NIV).
This is the only real and lasting motivation for submitting ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit, for He took this path before we ever were asked to follow. He has taken me, a wild rose, and grafted me into the True Vine, controlled by His loving Spirit—you too can find this joy. You must simply repent and ask for His strength. He is faithful to provide all we need to walk this road of self-control.
Be blessed,
Ruth