Self Control
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 6:43AM I don't accomplish the good I set out to do, and the evil I don't really want to do I find I am always doing.
Romans 7:19 (Phillips Translation)
The problem Paul highlights in this section of Romans resides within all of us. The universal problem of losing control. The answer to this problem is easy to identify, but applying it is a lifetime project. The answer is self-control.
The passage we looked at last week in Esther 9:1-16 depicts a perfect opportunity and legal right for the Jews to retaliate and plunder their enemies. Yet in defending themselves, the Jews demonstrated restraint regarding their enemies’ families and possessions.
When we are tempted to take matters into our own hands and get even, we need to remember:
1.) As a Christian we are to be different from the world – Romans 12:2. Paul warns us not to be conformed. Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.
2.) As a Christian we are a member of a family – Romans 12:3-5. Our role is not to take charge, but to take directions. Our direction comes from the Lord Jesus.
3.) As a Christian the Lord is our defender – Romans 12:17-21. The high road of life is not the road of retaliation, it is the road of forgiveness. It is the road that Jesus traveled when He went to the cross.
"God is waiting eagerly to respond with new strength to each little act of self-control, small disciplines of prayer, feeble searching after him. And his children shall be filled if they
will only hunger and thirst after what he offers." Richard Holloway
Praying your day is filled with opportunities to practice self-control and experience God’s perfect provision.
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