Welcome to the Spray United Methodist Church podcast.
My name is Hoyt, and I am grateful you are here today.
Let us take a quiet moment to breathe, to slow down, and to rest in the presence of God.
Today we are going to reflect on the spirit and the fruit of self-control.
When most people hear the words self-control, they think about willpower, trying harder, holding emotions in, forcing ourselves to behave correctly.
But the self-control produced by the Holy Spirit is something deeper than performance.
It is not pretending anger does not exist.
It is not becoming emotionless.
It is not spiritual acting.
Instead, it is the quiet work of God, changing how we respond to life.
Not perfectly, but genuinely.
In Galatians chapter five, the apostle Paul writes, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Notice something important.
Paul calls self-control fruit, not performance.
Fruit grows slowly, quietly, over time.
And sometimes we do not even realize that God is changing us until we look back and notice our reactions are different than they once were.
Recently, I had several frustrating days dealing with problems involving my car tire.
There were delays, repairs, more problems after the repairs.
Years ago, that situation would have produced anger, stress, and frustration spilling out everywhere.
But this time something was different.
I stayed calm.
Not because I was forcing myself to appear spiritual, not because I was pretending everything felt wonderful, but because somewhere deep inside peace stayed.
And afterwards I realized something.
I did not even recognize it at first.
There was self-control, not performance, the quiet miracle.
Sometimes we think miracles must be dramatic, but maybe one of the quiet miracles of spiritual growth is this.
The old person inside us does not always react the same way anymore.
The words soften, the anger slows down, the urge to explode loses some of its power, and little by little the peace of Christ begins to arrive before anger takes over.
Not because we became strong, but because the Holy Spirit is changing us.
The world teaches us to react instantly, to lash out, to vent, to return anger for anger.
But the spirit teaches something different.
Pause, breath, pray, listen.
Sometimes self-control is simply creating enough quiet for the Holy Spirit to speak before our emotions do.
And honestly, that can change relationships, it can change homes, it can change churches, it can even change the atmosphere inside our own hearts.
Self-control is not weakness, it is strength under surrender, not the strength of pride, but the strength that comes from allowing Christ to govern the heart.
And true self-control is not, look how disciplined I am.
It is Lord Jesus, help me to respond more like you.
So today maybe the prayer is simple.
Holy Spirit, slow my reactions.
When anger rises, bring peace.
When frustration grows, bring patience.
When fear appears, bring calm, and teach me to notice the quiet ways you are changing my heart.
Because sometimes the clearest evidence that Christ is working within us is not found in dramatic moments, but in gentler reactions during ordinary life.
Let us pray.
Holy Spirit, thank you for your quiet work within us.
Thank you for the moments when you interrupt anger with peace.
Teach us to slow down, teach us to listen, teach us to respond instead of simply react.
Grow within us the fruit of self control, not so that we can appear impressive, but so our lives might reflect Jesus more clearly.
When frustration rises, bring gentleness.
When pressure builds, bring peace.
And when we fail, remind us that your grace still holds us.
Continue your transforming work within our hearts.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Thank you for joining me on the Spray United Church podcast.
If you do not have a church home, we invite you to worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at eight oh three Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
We are a loving family who loves God and loves people, all people.
Now may the peace of the Holy Spirit fill you and keep you safe.
Until next time, goodbye.