Grateful For Self-Control

I was thinking last night and this morning about how important and absolutely imperative it is to have self-control.

You know, when you control your own motions, body, language, thoughts, and feelings.

I'll be the first to say that I'm not the best at that, especially when it comes to the feelings, but I recognize the importance of self-control and strive for it every day. It seems like every day I'm thinking about something or feeling an emotion that should be controlled and re-directed.
And it is with deep deep gratitude that I'm thankful these days for the self-control that I have exercised. The self-control muscles came in handy during moments of weakness and I am so grateful that I have them! What an absolute mess I'd be in right now if I always acted on what I wanted to do or feel or think. Every whim, or strong desire would have been satisfied in the moment, but my life would have been so complicated. My natural instincts are not always the wisest or best choices. I've found that I tend toward easy things, and selfish things, and sinfulness.

Learning self-control doesn't come overnight. And it's not a process that is easy. It requires work and determination. And a knowledge of what is right and good, so you know how to direct the control. And it calls for constant practice and constant awareness. And it calls for constant calling out to Jesus for grace in those moments when its hardest to control yourself.

Just a few thoughts for a Tuesday morning.