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Not self-control but Spirit control
‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ Galatians 5:25 NKJV
Do you have an out-of-control appetite when it comes to money, food, nicotine, alcohol, drugs, sex, or … (you fill in the blank). Have your repeated efforts to gain control left you with a sense of shame, failure, and hopelessness? Have all your attempts at self-control failed? Try Spirit control! ‘Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. … But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. … And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ (Galatians 5:16-17, 22-25 NKJV). The secret of walking in victory is in realising these two things:
1) Self-control is not something you do for God, it’s something God does for you.
2) Self-control is not a one-time work but a daily walk.
Each time you say no to self and yes to God, His Spirit comes to your aid and empowers you. By choosing to obey God instead of your impulses, you activate the power that brings victory.
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2022
‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ Galatians 5:25 NKJV
Do you have an out-of-control appetite when it comes to money, food, nicotine, alcohol, drugs, sex, or … (you fill in the blank). Have your repeated efforts to gain control left you with a sense of shame, failure, and hopelessness? Have all your attempts at self-control failed? Try Spirit control! ‘Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. … But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. … And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ (Galatians 5:16-17, 22-25 NKJV). The secret of walking in victory is in realising these two things:
1) Self-control is not something you do for God, it’s something God does for you.
2) Self-control is not a one-time work but a daily walk.
Each time you say no to self and yes to God, His Spirit comes to your aid and empowers you. By choosing to obey God instead of your impulses, you activate the power that brings victory.
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2022
