Secrets of Self-Control (2)

Thursday, 1 March 2018

'With the Lord's help, they will stand.' Romans 14:4 NLT

Put your past behind you.

‘One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal.’ (Philippians 3:13–14 NIV) This Scripture exposes a misconception that will keep you from gaining self-control: once a failure, always a failure! You may say, ‘Oh, I tried to quit my bad habit. In fact, I have tried over and over. I guess I’ll never be able to get control of this.’ That is a misconception. Paul says, ‘We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.’ (2 Corinthians 4:9 TLB) Have you watched a baby learning to walk? They fall down a lot, but they don’t stay down. They keep on trying, and ultimately they succeed. How far do you think they’d get if they just gave up and said, ‘Some people were meant to be walkers, and some were not’?

Failure in the past does not mean you’ll never be able to change. But focusing on past failures, however, does guarantee their repetition. It is like driving a car while looking in the rear-view mirror. You’re going to collide with what’s ahead of you. You have to put your past behind you. Few people had more failures than Thomas Edison, inventor of the electric light bulb. Most of us would have given up, but not him. He once said, ‘Don’t call it a failure, call it an education! Now I know what doesn’t work!’ When you realise sin doesn’t work, it’s a defining moment and your springboard to victory. A winner is simply someone who gets back up one more time than they fall down. So, the word for you today is: ‘With the Lord’s help, you will stand.’