Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”
While doing my morning devotion I came across one of my favorite Proverbs for addicts and people who are in bondage to something. Addictions and things that bind us simply prevent us from being everything God wants us to be and he talks about this in the book of Proverbs. Those of us who lack self control are “like a city whose walls are broken down”…or in today’s terms like a computer without firewalls and antivirus programs. We are a train wreck waiting to happen.
A lack of self control opens us up to all kinds of problems and usually results in a life of over-indulgence and subsequent angst and turmoil. As an addict, self control is something I’ve had to literally work on my entire life. I am a person who likes to feel good. In fact, even after 22 years of sobriety, I still struggle with that “feel good” feeling even though the craving and acting out on it ultimately destroyed my life by the time I was 28 years old.
So how do we live a life of “self control?”
It begins with giving all the “control” to God. “I can’t He can, I think I will let him.” It is amazing how much “control” we gain by giving it to a power greater than ourselves. Giving the control to God involves starting the day by surrendering to Him through prayer, meditation and scripture reading. In essence we envelope our lives inside God’s arms.
The bad news is this is only the beginning. I have found being specific in prayer also helps deter me from my compulsive tendencies. A couple of compulsions I still battle today are the want of “things” and food. So I have a written prayer where I not only ask God to help me stay clean and sober for another day but I ask him to give me the strength to overcome my desires of spending money and eating bad stuff. Being specific in prayer to God about our demons is the best way to deal with them. Naming “it,” claiming “it,” and dumping “it” in God’s hands is a great start in being able to control our unGodly desires.
Next, we need to strengthen our knowledge and grow our wisdom by putting good things in our head. Remember, we have a “thinking problem” and the sum of all our thoughts make up our attitude and if we are going to overcome our compulsive behavior problems and the lack of self control, we need to create new thoughts and ultimately a new attitude. Keys to changing our thinking/attitude involve hanging out with wise people as well as people who have learned how to overcome similar areas of compulsiveness. We need to also penetrate our old “stinking thinking” with good stuff from radio, TV and books.
Last, but certainly not least, we need to plan for all of this. “If you don’t know where you are going…any road will take you there.” “A man without a plan is like a ship without a rudder.” Gaining “self control” is a process and it takes planning. We need to decide when we are going to do our daily prayer, meditation and reading and not waiver from it. We need to plan and decide what “good stuff” we are going to penetrate our thoughts with. Then we need to commit this plan to the Lord; “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3.
I chuckle to myself today when people tell me how they admire my self-discipline. Twenty-two years ago I experienced what my “self-discipline” did for me and bankruptcy in all aspects of my life is a place I never want to go to again. Today I gain “self-discipline” through “God-Discipline” and trying my best to do all the things I just shared with you on a daily basis…it is a much easier way to live.
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
