Self-Control
Self-Control - Part 7: Running the Race
Posted on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 12:00 AM
There’s a moment near the end of a long race when the body screams at you to stop. Your legs are heavy, your breath is shallow, and every fiber of your being is demanding that you slow down, if not stop entirely. But the finish line is visible now. And you keep running. Self-control, at its best, looks like that. Not a dramatic sprint, but a quiet, persistent steadiness - a decision, made again and again, to keep orienting toward what matters most rather than what feels best in the moment.Self-Control - Part 6: Growing in Self-Control
Posted on Monday, May 11, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Self-control sounds like a solo sport. And in one sense, it is – the fight happens inside your own body and mind. But here’s the secret most discipline manuals won’t tell you: the most disciplined people are not doing it alone. They’re doing it in community, in rhythm, and in relationship with God. Galatians 5:22-25 tells us self-control is fruit – singular. It’s not something you manufacture. It grows. But fruit doesn’t grow on air.Self-Control - Part 5: When You Fail at Self-Control
Posted on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 12:00 AM
There is a moment every person who pursues self-control eventually faces. It is not the test. It is what comes after you fail it. You made it through a hard week. You were praying, you were watchful, you were holding the line. And then something pushed the wrong button — or the right button, depending on how you look at it — and the temper flared, or the word slipped out, or the appetite overran the boundary you set.Self-Control - Part 4: Self-Control in a Distracted Age
Posted on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Two decades ago, the greatest self-control challenges a person faced were a few obvious ones: the donut in the break room, the argument with your spouse, the extra drink at dinner. The battlefield was identifiable. You could see the enemies coming from a distance. That world is gone. Today, the average person checks their phone ninety-six times a day. Ninety-six. That is once every ten minutes of waking life. And each check is not neutral — it is a small war.Self-Control - Part 3: Where Self-Control Is Tested Most
Posted on Friday, May 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM
There is a reason the Book of Proverbs returns, again and again, to the tongue, the temper, and the table. These are not minor concerns. They are the fault lines — the places where self-control either holds or collapses. Most of us know this from experience. You can have a reasonably disciplined morning. You can pray, read your Bible, set your intentions. And then someone cuts you off in traffic, or your coworker takes credit for your idea, or the dessert menu arrives — and everything you built that day is tested in a single moment.Self-Control - Part 2: The Most Self-Controlled Being in the Universe
Posted on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 12:00 AM
We talk about self-control as something we need more of. But what if I told you that before you ever exercised a single ounce of discipline, you were already reflecting someone who has it perfectly? God is the most self-controlled being in the universe. Not because He lacks power, but because His power is always directed by love. And that changes everything about what self-control really is. When Power Meets Restraint Think about this: God had every right to wipe out Israel the moment they grumbled in the wilderness.Self-Control - Part 1: What Self-Control Really Is
Posted on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM
The first time I really understood self-control, I was standing in front of an open refrigerator at 10 o’clock at night. I was not hungry. I knew I was not hungry. But there it was — the pull. Just to eat something. Anything. The feeling that if I did not give in, I would somehow miss out on something I deserved. It was not a need. It was an impulse wearing the mask of a want.Why Self-Control Fails (And What Actually Works)
Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 12:00 AM
The Myth of Willpower Here’s what we get wrong about self-control: we think it’s about trying harder. We make resolutions. We download apps. We create accountability systems. We white-knuckle our way through temptations, convinced that if we just try hard enough, we’ll finally master ourselves. And then we fail. Again. And again. And again. A recent article from Christian Today points out something crucial: biblical self-control “does not originate from the self at all.Self-Control: The Hardest Fruit to Cultivate
Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 12:00 AM
The Battle We All Face You know that moment when you’re trying to eat healthy, and suddenly there’s a donut in the break room? Or when you’re attempting to save money, but that Amazon sale keeps calling your name? Or when you know you should respond patiently to that frustrating text, but your thumbs are already typing something you’ll regret? Welcome to the battle for self-control. What Is Self-Control? Self-control is listed last in Galatians 5:22-23, but don’t let its position fool you—it’s not the least important.Self-Control: The Final Fruit
Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 12:00 AM
The last of nine, the anchor tight, The bridge that holds the rest alight— Without this guard, the fruits take flight, A scattered spark that fades at night. When passions roar and tempers rise, And impulse pulls toward the prize, The Spirit whispers: “Wait, be wise, There’s strength within this sacrifice.” Not chains that bind, but wings that soar, Not weakness, but the greater power. To choose what’s right when wrong feels sweet, To walk the path with steady feet.Self-Control: The Anchor That Holds Everything Together
Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 12:00 AM
The night quiets down around me, and I’m thinking about self-control—the final fruit of the Spirit. The anchor that holds everything else together. It’s fitting that self-control comes last in Galatians 5:22-23. Not because it’s least important, but because it makes all the others possible. Without it, love burns out, joy fades, peace fractures, patience ends, kindness becomes reactive, goodness crumbles, faithfulness wavers, gentleness disappears. What Self-Control Really Is I used to think self-control was about willpower.