Self~Control - God is the One to help me to have self~control

Monday, a new day, a new week which led to lots of thinking last night. 

Isn't that what most people do ~ think about Monday as a new day, time for new beginnings.

So I got on the scale ~ UGH did not like what I saw, my weight is crawling the opposite direction of what I want.  My eating is once again out of control...thoughts of "get with the program"  "get off my fat a** and get moving again"  "make good choices" you know...the litany continues on and on.

And now it is Tuesday, first day of our work week.  The dang house alarm went off at 6:00, then lots of yelling...am sure the new boy in our house doesn't know not to come out of the bedroom before 6:30 am.  Knowing my alarm was set for 7:00 am I rolled over and went back to sleep.  Got up when my alarm went off even though I had been hearing lots of noise from the boys for the past half hour.  Made my way to the kitchen to make some coffee and then got dressed for the day.  Coffee was ready and so headed to my little corner to meet with God.  

I began praying, telling God once again I had failed at spending time with Him daily.  You don't want to know how long it has been since I sat in the quietness of my corner and just talked and read God's Word.  And how unhappy I am with myself regarding my weight, my eating habits and feeling like such a loser.  

And then I opened Our Daily Bread for my devotion of the day.  

And once again I sat humbled as God met me right where I am this morning.

Ready for a Change?

Read: Galatians 5:16–25

Self-control is probably one of the hardest things to master. How often have we been defeated by a bad habit, a lousy attitude, or a wrong mindset? We make promises to improve. We ask someone to hold us accountable. But deep inside, we know that we don’t have the will or the ability to change. We can talk, we can plan, we can read self-help books, but we still find it difficult to overcome and control many of the things that are inside us!

Thankfully, God knows our weakness, and He also knows the remedy! The Bible says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23). The only way to gain self-control is by allowing the Holy Spirit to control us.

God is not nearly as concerned with our ability as He is with our surrender.

In other words, our key focus is not effortbut surrender—to live moment by moment submissively trusting in the Lord rather than in self. Paul says this is what it means to “walk by the Spirit” (v. 16).  Are you ready for a change? You can change, for God is in you. As you surrender control to Him, He will help you bear the fruit of His likeness.

I am in need, Lord, of Your power so that I might change and grow. I surrender myself to You. Please help me to understand how to be submissive to You that I might be filled with Your Spirit.

God is not nearly as concerned with our ability as He is with our surrender.

INSIGHT:

Today’s passage exhorts us to “walk by the Spirit” (v. 16). Just as a surgeon operates by means of a scalpel, we are to walk by means of the Holy Spirit. We are to be consciously dependent upon Him in attitude and choices. Yet there are two spheres of influence that pull us in different directions. The term “flesh” is used to describe the old sinful way of life that seeks to live independently from God and exhibits behavior displeasing to Him. The “Spirit” refers to those behaviors that flow from the indwelling Christ and produce fruit exemplifying His character. When we walk by means of the Spirit, we can say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit. 

By Jaime Fernández Garrido 

Wow!!!  Once again God has met me right where I am.  What jumped out was "One of the fruits of the Spirit is SELF-CONTROL!!!  Which I lack dearly!!!  One part of my mind says this is what you need to do but the other part says "it doesn't really matter, you are who you are and one of those things is FAT!!!"  And then the tears began to flow...Lord I have been "dieting for more than 40 years off/on" the operative word there "I" not WE - me and God together.  I read my devotion and then saw myself crawling up onto my Abba's lap, his arms wrapped around me and His sweet voice saying "it's okay Ali, we got this, one step at a time or in this case one minute at a time...one meal at a time, even just one bite at a time."  Sitting in my big recliner feeling peace once again, not beating myself up but saying "we've got this God...well You do" and so today in this moment I feel encouraged and am reminded I am not alone.

What about you?  Do you ever echo my thoughts ~ feeling like you are alone on a journey, whether it is a Journey of Getting Healthy, Journey of dealing with loss ~ so many people I know are dealing with some form of loss ~ the loss of a spouse/father of her children, loss of a little girl's innocence ~ wondering why she had parents who only thought of themselves, loss of a sibling through death or anger/jealousy...the list goes on.  There is no magic pill or tonic to heal these hurts/wrongs....only Jesus to love us through our pain, our hurts and tears.

I would love to be able to pray for you, share my story with you ~ hoping to give you encouragement and walk beside you just as so many of my friends have done with me.  Leave me a comment on how I can pray for you or how I can contact you.  

Today I am thankful that God is my friend, my Abba daddy, who is always ready and waiting to hear from me.