In Case of Emergency – Stay Calm - Wednesday
Today’s Verse
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (NLT)
We live in a day full of convenience and instant gratification. If we want groceries but don’t want to go to the store, someone can shop for us and even deliver the groceries to our house. Want to know the answer to even the most random of trivia knowledge? We carry devices with us that can give us the answer in seconds. It is a blessing, for sure, to have access to what we need (and want) so quickly but, like anything else, there can be negatives when used unwisely—like quick reactions and impulsivity.
We talked yesterday about preparing our minds as we described ways to stay calm when life throws us curveballs. I’d like to dig a little deeper into that today and look at how to develop emotional maturity so that we are not easily swayed by fleeting emotions or external pressures.
Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:13 to “prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control” so that we are clear and focused on what truly matters. The way we develop that sober mindset is by spending time in God’s Word regularly. His Word speaks truth about so many situations, and they help us grow in wisdom to look more like Jesus. Self-control, as described in our scripture today, is a fruit of the Spirit and is completely contrary to impulsivity. Having self-control means we pause before reacting or making decisions, we seek God’s guidance when the answer isn’t clear and we consider the consequences before jumping in with both feet. This takes practice (trust me, the Lord has been developing it in my life for years), but is well worth it to ensure that we have fully considered something before taking action.
The road to developing self-discipline and emotional maturity is a long one and, as with anything, we won’t succeed the first time. But God extends an abundance of grace to us so that we can try, fail, and try again and over time, we will develop the kind of fruit that comes from wisdom and a deep relationship with Jesus.
REFLECTION
Self-assess for a moment. Do you tend to react quickly to situations (comments, accusations, situations) and allow your emotions to take over? Is there room for the Holy Spirit to develop self-control in your life? Spend some time asking Him to turn your reaction into calm responses. We have some great podcast episodes that talk about how we can cultivate that fruit in our lives. Here’s one for parents, men, and women.