GUARD YOUR DOOR – SELF-CONTROL

Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts – Proverbs 4: 23 (Message)

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts – Proverbs 4: 23 (Good News Bible)

SELF-CONTROL means for you to GUARD your DOOR! God made you to be responsible! He put you in charge of your Eden. You cannot abandon your duty post as the guard at the door of your Life’s Garden. Nothing should get in or out without your decision or permission.

“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls” (Pro.25:28). A person without self-control is like a defenseless city – with broken-down walls – because its guard failed to protect it. Life is about warfare, from the cradle to the grave. Never should the Christian forget the reality of spiritual warfare; but also the verity of Victory through Christ: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14). “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jh. 4:4).

For God's people, all warfare is spiritual (Eph.6:10-12). Every battle, test and trial, whether on the physical, emotional, social, sexual, family, or financial fronts, must be won spiritually. However feeble you may feel or threatening the situation may appear, the power of the Holy Spirit within you is more than adequate to secure your victory. You must never abandon your territories – personal, family, career, or otherwise – to Satan’s assaults.

Romans 13:14 reveals the key to Self-Control: “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” In other words: Let the Lord take the wheel of your life and redirect your thoughts. Hand over the Control, Key, Steering, and Driver’s Seat of your life to the Lord Jesus. Self-control is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). The more you submit to the Holy Spirit, the more you’ll mature in Love and Self-control. The Holy Spirit is gentle. He doesn’t forcibly control you. He will simply empower you to master your vulnerability, resist temptation, control yourself, and obtain the victory.

We often think of exercising self-control only in the context of sexual temptations. It is equally important to learn how to shut the door against anxiety and worry, rather than entertaining them. Worry is a state of mind characterized by anxiety, confusion and perplexity. It is a major device in the hands of Satan, to rob believers of perfect peace. Worry is sin, and it never solves a problem. You cannot accommodate anxiety and still overcome it. 1 Peter 5:7 admonishes “casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” Be decisive in dealing with anxiety. Don’t dwell on worries. Deal with them the moment they surface. Thrust your worries to the Lord and leave them there.