Get a Grip
Café Menu for Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Today’s Special is: Winning the War Within
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Yolanda Perry
Main Ingredient:
A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.
Proverbs 25:28 NLT
Entrée:
Have you ever said something and then thought,
Oh no…did I just say that out loud?
That has happened to me more times than I can count or even care to recall. For much of my life I had a really short fuse. Even the most trivial things would set me off. And though many of my shortcomings vanished at the time I accepted Christ into my heart, this one character defect lingered and plagued me for years.
Truth be told, I still have to make a concerted effort to keep this in check when I encounter a situation that has the potential to trigger it.
No one was exempt from my occasional blow outs. Not my children. Not customer service representatives. Not sales associates. Any and every one could unexpectedly end up in my line of fire.
When I became a Christian, I was so disappointed in myself whenever I blew it… or should I say blew my top, which is a more accurate description of my behavior. In the moment, I did everything I could to justify myself by trying to win word fights.
I am ashamed to say that this oftentimes happened in public places, and others were around to witness my outbursts. All the while my Christian witness was being compromised. There was so much condemnation and shame when I walked away each time.
But God was always quick to remind me that He did not condemn me (Romans 8:1). He was willing to love me right where I was, as long as I was willing to fully surrender this to Him. There was comfort in knowing that I was not alone in this struggle, or with any other flaw for that matter. And I discovered that God has a way of escape and release from every single one (1 Corinthians 10:13).
For the longest time, I did not realize I was trying to overcome these struggles in my own strength. And all the while God was just waiting for me to lean on Him for help. My greatest "aha" moment came when I discovered a particular passage of Scripture that changed my life and walk with the Lord.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 NIV
I discovered that I did need to “get a grip”… but it was not of me. Rather, I needed to tug on the One who knows me better than I know myself. That was and is the key to winning the war within.
Take Out:
Think about the most recent instance that you did not exercise self-control… maybe you snapped at a family member, gossiped about a co-worker, was mean to a cashier, etc. Pray and ask for God’s forgiveness. Then go the distance. If you have access to the person who was affected, ask for his or her forgiveness.
Dessert:
Lord… when my flesh is screaming, “Let me be in control!”… may I learn how to tightly grab hold of You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
© 2015 by Yolanda Perry. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Wednesday, 30 September 2015.
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