No Accident

Spiritual Skill: Self-Control (wk. 10/13)

Reading: Matthew 4:1-11

Self-Control Doesn’t Just Happen – in Fitness or in Life

Fifteen Days Each Month keeps me disciplined and consistent

My job requires a lot of travel across the country. Indeed, I travel too much to get into the gym every day. Therefore, my goal for the last several years has been fifteen days a month. I’m part of a CrossFit gym, and I find if I can get to the box 15 days per month (180 days per year), my “Physical Fitness Self-Control” level is where I want it to be. I’m able to stay consistently “in-sync” with the fitness level of my body and stay “in sync” with my fitness community for friendship and accountability. This consistency helps me to make better choices eating, sleeping and recovering even during the weeks when I can’t get to the gym.

Spiritual fitness needs a similar rhythm

How do you stay “in-sync” with God and practicing “Spiritual Self-Control?”

Are there some rhythms that you’ve seen work for you as you aim to grow spiritually? When Jesus was being tempted, his first response to the Tempter, as recorded in Matthew 4:4 was this, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” What does this “living by the word of God” look like for you?

In the same way that time in the gym helps with fitness self-control, I find that time in God’s word helps me with spiritual self-control. The more consistent time I spend in His word, the more I become the type of person I want to be for God, others and myself. To that end, for the past several years, I’ve been using a through-the-Bible-in-a-year program as part of a bible app on my iPad. This disciplined approach to working through both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament has done wonders for my soul.

I also find consistent reading of devotional books turns my heart to God and his word. Books such as the Handbook to Leadership by Kenneth Boa and others, Leadership Prayers by Richard Kreigbaum, and The Valley of Vision edited by Arthur Bennett have been so good for my soul, that when I finish each of them, I simply go back to the start and begin again.

For several years now I’ve also been using the Prayermate app on my iPad. After years of being undisciplined in my prayer consistency, I now have an organized, consistent time of prayer each day. Most importantly: I’m actually praying for the people and things I promise to pray for.

The Benefits

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he lays out a wonderful list of character traits – what he calls “the Fruit of the Spirit.” These traits include love, patience, kindness and self-control among others, and are nurtured as we seek to walk with God. For me, that means spending consistent time in God’s word, learning from him and seeing the examples and insights his people demonstrated as they sought to walk with God.

Questions for Reflection:

How do you practice “Spiritual Self-Control”

What rhythms of reading and prayer work well for you?

What can you do to become more “in-sync” with God?