Day 14: 30-Day True Woman Makeover Challenge

Self-Control

Purity and self-control help you make wise choices, even in tempting situations.

• God calls you to exercise self-control over your sexual passions, your demeanor, your dress and attitudes, and your way of dealing with men.

• If you have self-control, you’ll find there are a lot of situations you’ll never end up in because you made wise, restrained choices on the front end.

• The greatest freedom in life comes when you’re under the control of the Holy Spirit. That’s when you can really enjoy life and healthy relationships in the Body of Christ.

This is just a taste of what you'll learn from Nancy Leigh DeMoss in the series, “The Attractive Christian Woman.”

Moving on…..

A woman who does not have the ability to understand and fulfill her proper role according to God's standards is one who does not have control over her spirit. She has not allowed God to be in authority over her and has instead become her own boss, and everyone else's. But what she has done is destroyed the very purpose that God created her for; to be a helper suitable.

By taking charge, she has made herself into that broken down city. And without the walls of both submission and self-control, she has made herself a target for Satan. Her life becomes a landing pad for things like deception, frustration, temper tantrums, dissatisfaction, distrust, and more. These kinds of women are trouble magnets, subject to every whim of the enemy.

In contrast, the kind of control that God created Christian women to have, the kind that brings positive peace and proper perspective, is self-control. This means that she has the mental ability to discern the right kind of behavior in any given situation, and the ability to carry out that behavior.

 Martha was extremely stressed that she had been left to serve alone, while her sister, Mary, sat at Jesus' feet and listened to His teachings. Out of exasperation, Martha demanded that Jesus send Mary in to help her. But Jesus' response implied that Mary had chosen the more appropriate response to Him. Mary was allowing the words of Jesus to build walls around her city. Those who choose to follow Mary's example understand that being in control of everything on the outside is not what's important. A woman who is able to maintain control over the inside, spiritually, emotionally and mentally, is a woman who will enjoy the freedom that comes when Christ rules over her life.

The answer to keeping God’s power with me and working in me to produce self-control is letting His Word get inside me

Have you ever been in a discussion with a loved one when something snarky gets said and suddenly your blood pressure skyrockets, your nerves fray, and the worst version of you begs to come out?

Not that this ehhhhhver happens to me, of course. Ahem. Of course, it happens to me. I live with other humans.

Whenever any kind of relationship conflict arises, my choice is whether to give the other person power to control my emotions.

When I react by yelling or flying off the handle or making a snappy comeback, I basically transfer my power to the other person. When I am void of power, I am void of self-control. So, it seems to me, if I'm going to remain self-controlled, I have to keep my power.

Now, when I say "my power," I don't mean something I conjure up myself. I am referring to God's power working in me. When I react according to God's Word, I feel that power. When I react contrary to God's Word, I feel powerless.

So, all that to say, here's my new tactic: When I'm facing a situation where someone is getting on the last good nerve I have, I'm going to start quoting God's Word in the present tense. 

For example, if one of my sweet friend starts acting not so sweet, I might say aloud (or silently reply, depending on the situation) words based on 1 Peter 5:6-8:

In this moment I'm choosing to be self-controlled and alert. Your actions are begging me to yell and lose control. I do have an enemy, but that enemy is not you. The devil is prowling and roaring and looking to devour me through my own lack of control right now. But I am God's girl. That's right, I am. I am going to humbly and quietly let God have His way in me right now. And when I do this, God will lift me and my frayed nerves up from this situation and fill me with a much better reaction than what I can give you right now. So, give me just a few minutes and then we'll calmly talk about this.

Girl, that's some power right there.

I love being God's girl. Don't you?