Fruits Of The Spirit – Revealed At ChristmasНамуна

SELF-CONTROL

The dictionary meaning of self control is the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behaviour, especially in difficult situations.

Joseph shows self control when he wanted to quietly divorce Mary when he found that she was preganant before they got married. According to the law Joseph had every right to do it. Joseph trusted the Lord as advised by the angel and he took Mary as his wife and he also did not consummate his marriage till Jesus was born. 

It requires self control to allow God to work in our lives and in our spouses life. Many start well and when hardships come they turn against God. Some pretend that they are still in the center of God’s will but time will tell. It requires self control to be patient with an unbelieving or a spouse who suddenly goes back on their faith statements. It is difficult following what God wants us to do. Sometimes the path is difficult like in Joseph and Mary’s case people had every reason to think they were at fault and the people seemed to be right. Joseph and Mary had the privilege of being Jesus’s mum & dad. Oh what they would have missed if Joseph had divorced Mary . He would have lost the privilege of being called the earthly father of Jesus. Mary went with the disgrace of an unwed mom or a woman of loose character but she is still remembered today as the earthly mother of Jesus. 

In today’s world whatever we go through if we are sure that it is what God wants us to do we would need to do it filled with self control. 

Thought for today: 

In which situation in my life does God want me to show restraint?