Galatians 5:22,23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
The last fruit of the Spirit in this list is self control. I can't speak for everyone, but I think that all of us are tempted to do things we wish we hadn't. So at some level none of us has absolute self control. This is frustrating. We wrestle with regret over our actions.
This passage tells that the result of walking in the Spirit is that we will have self control. Meaning we will be better than we used to be and will continue grow in it. This is exciting. What a blessing that the Lord helps to be more in control.
It doesn't mean that we will be independent in it. It's God who instills self control in us. As soon as we walk away from Him, it will revert back to our old ways. If not worse. Jesus says in Matthew 12:45 that if God cleans us up and we turn from Him we'll end up worse than before.
Any believer who experiences the Lord's help in self control knows that it's His power. If they don't, they'll learn soon enough. There's no other explanation. All of the sudden we're better. Some of the struggles we had are gone. It's more than maturity. It's the power and mercy of God.
I can look back at some issues I had six months ago in which I didn't feel in control. Things feel different. The vise has lessened. There's no question, the Lord has helped.
Jesus says in John 4:14, "but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” In the context of self control, we can see this water of God as a healing agent mends and repairs us.
What about the areas that never get better? Paul addresses this in 2 Corinthians 12:7b-8 "I was given a messenger of Satan to buffet me. Concerning this I asked of the Lord three times to remove this from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.'" He wants us to be dependent on Him. This is for different reasons for each of us. Some would stray if completely free, others would be too dependent on self, thus limiting God's power.
Lord, thank You for self control. It's wonderful to feel this freedom from the vises or weakness. Thank You also for the areas of weakness that remain. You keep us close and dependent on You. We admire and trust Your wisdom.