As I was driving home yesterday in heavy traffic, I was thinking about the voice mail that a man from an alarm company left. Lets just say he was not very happy. Because of the way we are doing things now, an alarm company can't just call and directly talk to anyone. It's voice mail or email. This in itself is frustrating to many. But I thought about all the people I have called back who have left not so nice voice mails or emails in all CAPS and realized that when they are confronted with a real live person that genuinely wants to figure out what's going on and help them out, their frustrations and anger are stored away inside rather than being directed at me for the most part. Not everyone has a filter on their anger and frustration. It's just not nice to take your anger and frustration out on an innocent person that is stuck in the middle. I wonder how well I have been with my angers and frustrations. Am I letting them spew out to innocent people or am I calmly talking my anger and frustrations out to the appropriate person? Self-control is probably one of the toughest things to master. For some of us, it's the self-control with our emotions; for others it's the self-control of eating, drinking, smoking or some other physical thing that ultimately hurts us. The Holy Spirit can give us all we need, including this self-control but because each day is a new day, we need to ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us with all we need to face the challenges of our day ahead. Let's say a prayer: Father, we thank you for this gift of the Holy Spirit to be with us until the time when Jesus will return. Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and souls today with all the fruits of the spirit and especially that of self-control. Help us to look at each new challenge we face today through your eyes and ears and face them with fruits you alone can give us. Amen.
Galations 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
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