Proverbs 25:28 says, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” This really makes me think about the fact that self-control is actually a fruit of the Spirit. And a lot of times we look at things like self-control and even setting boundaries as things that we inflict as an act of self-preservation. But it’s actually something that’s supposed to guide us and guard us from things that don’t need to be in our walls. And it keeps us fresh for what God wants to do.
And so I just want to challenge you today to have more self-control, to seek self-control. You know, this year has actually been a year for me personally in delving in more to self-control, where I’m cutting back on a lot of different things when it comes to eating. It’s helping me stay on track with gardening and fitness and things that, you know, you wouldn’t really expect that are spiritual things. They don’t maybe feel spiritual day-to-day, but in a holistic view of you as a person, which you are a spiritual person, you need to be keeping the good things in and the bad things out, right?
So I just want to encourage you to lean into that fruit of the Spirit. The more that you surrender your life to Holy Spirit, the more that self-control will grow in you, and you won’t be like a city broken into and left without walls. It’s actually okay to have some boundaries up to keep the good stuff in. So I bless you in that, to have the discernment to know what’s good and what needs to actually be let in, not be so self-preserving that you’re actually keeping things that need to be in there out, right? Like, you want to have allowance to love your neighbor rightly, right? And to give of yourself. But you also don’t need to say yes to every single demand and every single thing that comes your way. So I’m just praying today that you have the discernment to know what is a good yes, and what is a rightful no.