Maybe I Have Been Doing It Wrong...

I think I may have come upon a personal revelation! I have been doing it all wrong! There are several areas of my life where I struggle with self control. I have shared with you all that food is one of them... I continually go down this road, not only with food, over and over and over again. I know that I need the power of the Holy Spirit to help me discover and embrace this self control that I lack. I read about it, pray about it and when I fail, I chastise myself, I feel guilty, and just give up. When I give up on the area of self control, I find that I also give up on (for lack of a better term to fit here) Jesus too. It’s like I have made the two connected. This is what I do...

I decide that I am going to get control of my self control.

I decide that I need Jesus to do it.

I make strong commitments to myself and to Jesus.

I pray and read my Bible.

After 1-5 days, I fail.

Guilt, self-pity, chastisement...

Done... until the next time.

Basically, I make the decision and attempt on my own power to make a change, bringing Jesus along as a sidekick. It’s like I thought that if I make the decision to do something and take Jesus along, then I will be successful... WRONG!!! What I should be doing is seeking Jesus all of the time, not connected to any particular area of my life. I need to continue to recognize and remember the problem area in my life. Seek Jesus for guidance and ask Him for ways to escape temptation. First, I HAVE to be connected to Jesus only for the love and peace and fulfillment that comes from a close relationship with Him. NOT for what He can do for me! I need to allow that relationship to grow and develop independently from needing it to escape a stronghold.

Sometimes I think that I know the right answers, but get them mixed up when I go to apply them in my own life! This walk with Jesus that I am on is a work in progress that I am privileged to be able to share with it you! (Especially when I stumble or when I see a light on a dark path, or both) I hope that it encourages you in your walk... the walk doesn’t have to be perfect, you just have to be walking!