FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT:

Part 9 Self-Control:

Self-Control comes from a rarely used word in the New Testament. “Those who have self-control are able to restrain themselves unlike those who are dominated by the desires of the flesh.” Again, there are a lot of people walking around with self-control – we see it all the time in exercise, eating habits, personal goals, etc. However, since this is a Fruit of the Spirit, it merits more than just being a disciplined person. If you have the Fruit of self-control, it is because Ruach HaKodesh gifts you with it. Again. these gifts can be fostered and grown through the power and strength of YHVH in your life. One way to look at this gift would be to assess how fluid self-control is in your life. You may have a lot of control in one area, but lack discipline in many other places. These are all important considerations as you’re assessing your gifting. Furthermore, if we go back to the first Fruit, love – YHVH’s definition of love nonetheless – this is too is a qualifying agent for all the Fruit.

Self-control might be a Fruit you naturally have if:

a) You are a balanced person in most respects, without any major struggles to maintain discipline in a particular area.
b) You rarely find yourself feeling guilty about personal decisions that you’ve made.
c) You make decisions based on what you rationally believe to be the best choice.

You might struggle with self-control if:

i) In more areas than not, you’re disorganized, unbalanced, or struggle to maintain discipline.
ii) You frequently feel bad about choices that you continually make.
iii) Emotions and desires are the foundation of your decision making.

So, there you have it – a breakdown of the Fruit of the Spirit. I hope this helps you identify your natural, Elohim-provided gifting and provides a means for turning to YHVH to ask Him to develop some of the other underperforming Fruit.