Faithful on Fridays Blog

Part Nine

Many think of self-control as quitting something: smoking, alcohol, or overeating, however, the Biblical perspective is quite different. Think about God’s power. It’s sovereign, He can do anything, at any time, for any reason: He answers to no one. We, on the other hand, are limited but thankfully, when we abide in the Vine our desires become His and we’re filled with His power to do anything, at any time, for His reason.

Sarah, Abraham’s wife, understood this aspect of God’s character as she waited to be a mother knowing that God promised them children. 

And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.” Genesis 16:2a

God reminded Moses of His power against sin:

If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you. Deuteronomy 11:17

God restrains His wrath, controls Himself, even when He has good reason to punish. We call that mercy. David recognized God’s self-control when his people suffered his punishment at God’s hand: David cried out for mercy (2 Sam. 10:-25) and received it.

Jesus explained to Pilate that all authority is given by God:

Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above …” John 19:11a

As we spend time with God He reminds us of our power and authority through Christ. We don’t have to be in the control of any outside influence; He imparts power to control. Here’s the caveat, the warning; when we try to control others we’re outside of His will, conversely, when we control ourselves we stay in the center of His will.

Self-control is mastery in any area of our life but its not will-power: it’s Spirit-power. Self-control is about drawing on the Holy Spirit to take dominion over temptations in our lives and experience victory; without it we open ourselves up to the tricks of the devil.

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25:28 ESV

The pagan emperor Felix recognized self-control as a power he didn’t understand when he questioned Paul. He desired to hear about faith in Christ Jesus, righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment. That must be some power.

The point of self-control is that we recognize our inability to control everything in life and release to the Spirit the empowerment to restrain ourselves against that which hurts us. Self-restraint is a good thing … it’s a good bondage to be in … it’s actually freeing when we trust God enough to release control to Him.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. Ephesians 1:19a