God of Nehemiah
"Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name." (Nehemiah 1:11 NIV)
On the list of characteristics of the fruit of the spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—the piece that brings up the rear—self-control—always tastes a little sour in my mouth, compared with all the apparent sweetness of love, joy, et al.
Self-control sounds like a lot of work to me. I know it's the Spirits's work, just like the rest of the bunch, but cooperation on my part still feels like something I'm not automatically good at.
Some help for me (and maybe for you, too, if self-control isn't on your list of default settings) comes from a possibly unlikely source: Nehemiah, cup-bearer to a king and rebuilder of a wall...a man whose name (and how beautiful is this?) means, "Yahweh has comforted" ("nehem-yah").
If we dig beneath the surface of chapter two of Nehemiah's namesake book, we find that God has gifted us with a set of plans for self-control. Brick by brick, it's a wall worth building.
1. Round up some trusted accountability partners: "I set out during the night with a few others" (Nehemiah 2:12).
2. Do a little honest self-examination: "I went out through the Valley Gate...examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire" (Nehemiah 2:13).
3. Admit what lack of self-control has left in its wake: "Then I said to them, 'You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace' " (Nehemiah 2:17).
4. Start cooperating with God's internal rebuilding project...and don't drag your feet about it. "I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.' So they began this good work" (Nehemiah 2:18).
5. Give the battle (which is probably what this will feel like) over to God...and then give it to Him again...and again, until He shows you the victory: "I answered them by saying, 'The God of heaven will give us success' (Nehemiah 2:20).
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God, as your servant Nehemiah rebuilt the wall, help me to build self-control. And help Your joy to be my strength in the building.
4. Start cooperating with God's internal rebuilding project...and don't drag your feet about it. "I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.' So they began this good work" (Nehemiah 2:18).
5. Give the battle (which is probably what this will feel like) over to God...and then give it to Him again...and again, until He shows you the victory: "I answered them by saying, 'The God of heaven will give us success' (Nehemiah 2:20).
* * * * * *
God, as your servant Nehemiah rebuilt the wall, help me to build self-control. And help Your joy to be my strength in the building.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!