Last Week On Self-Control

Last week I challenged myself to focus on the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:23-25.  I chose to work on self-control especially in regards to being negative.  It has been a long week!  I know for me personally I tend to struggle with self-control regarding negativity at work the most.  Things are always easier when I’m at home and isolated.  I can sip my coffee, read the bible, and meditate, while feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.  However when I get out into the world that is where I meet:   bad drivers, challenging personalities, and unhappy “customers.”  That is when this area of self-control is very hard to demonstrate.  This week I have faced many challenges and challenging people.  How did my experiment on self-control go?  I am a work in progress!  Let’s just say I had some great moments, and I totally FLOPPED on some!  Believe me I wish I could be more specific with you but some things I just can’t share on the blog.  But I do have to say when I focus on one thing in particular it helps me to be mindful of my actions more.  I didn’t expect to be cured in a week of negativity but I have some take away from it all. Because my negativity has become a habit and habits do not die easily.  I do recognize some things though.  I have a job that can be extremely stressful one minute and very boring the next.  I am a communications officer, most commonly known as, a dispatcher.  During my high stress times I recognize I am more apt to not demonstrate self-control and get snippy with people around me.  I also recognize when I am very tired I tend to lack self-control, I feel weakened and I’m not as alert to spiritual pit falls.  I believe that when I get into these types of situations I go into “auto-pilot.” I revert back to what is easiest and is most natural to me.  And unfortunately since I have developed a habit that happens to be a negative one, those ugly sides of my personality pop out most often when I am weakened in some way and not on guard. 

But these problems aren’t unique to me; it is a part of the human condition, the battle between the Spirit of God and the flesh.  As Paul speaks about it Romans 7:21-25, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?  Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”  The whole chapter 7 in Romans always encourages me and explains how I often feel when I battle with sin.  I desire to do well but often times I do not succeed.  Does that mean I should stop striving and just give up?  Not at all, I continue to seek God’s will and His direction, and most importantly His help in becoming the person He is shaping me to be.  And thank God that there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”  I do not have to feel condemned over my shortcomings but I can continually bring them to God in prayer, acknowledging them and asking for His help to overcome the issues.  I know this blog isn’t particularly exciting today, but I promised last week to share how my week went with the fruits of the Spirit; I hope yours went well with the one you chose!  And as always if you have any questions or want to share how your week went with the fruits, email me!  God bless!