A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.  —Proverbs 25:28 (The Message Bible)

Many years ago, a pastor at my church ministered about restraint. One of the things that struck me the most was that restraint is not God’s way of being a killjoy. It is God’s way of showing His love, protection, and blessing. Just like I as a parent have boundaries for David, God also has boundaries for me as His child because He loves me. He also wants to protect and bless me. I think I have had this revelation before, but it became a deeper understanding for me through Pastor Tim’s message.

Another thing that caught my attention was when Pastor Tim was talking about having to push through restraint at times. His example was when you have decided that you are going to spend more time with God in the morning, but when your alarm goes off you have a choice to make. Are you going to roll over and go back to sleep, or are you going to push through and get up to spend time with God? I think that this has been one of my biggest struggles. I have said that things are too hard or that it is such a struggle. What I didn’t realize is that I have to go through this and push through my feelings and how my flesh feels! This will bring me to victory!

A different version of the above verse reads “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls” (NKJV). As Pastor Tim elaborated, a city without walls is vulnerable to its enemies. I must rule, also known as having restraint, over my spirit, so I can put up good walls to protect myself against Satan. In the past, I have allowed my walls to be broken down and have exposed myself to Satan’s tricks. I purpose this year to spend more time with the Lord to help keep my walls up and my defenses ready to fight off the tricks of the enemy.

Take the time now to seek the Lord and see if your walls are crumbling down around you. What are you letting in through the gateways of your eyes, ears, and mind? What are you talking about? I challenge you to use Philippians 4:8 as a filter. The New Living Translation says, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” If something doesn’t fit into one of the categories mentioned in this verse, I challenge you to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you about it. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you weed out music, movies, conversations, relationships, and television shows that are not “true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise.”

Copyright © by Stephanie Gulland Share