Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | I was taking care of our daughter’s four children by myself. Because the oldest was six–and the one-year-olds were twins, I needed eyes in the back of my head to keep up with them! While I was upstairs helping three of them get dressed, one of the twins, decided he would help me by pouring his own orange juice for breakfast. He managed open the refrigerator and drag the half-gallon carton of juice from the shelf. You’ve already guessed what happened. As he poured the juice in his cup, the weight shifted in the carton, and soon all the juice was on the floor. You know how sticky orange juice is. First, I had to wash him, then the floor. Actually, I can’t remember how many times I washed the floor that day trying to get it clean enough that our feet didn’t stick.

I have found from my own personal experience as mother of three and grandmother of seven, that there is one survival skill I need in order to keep my sanity when everything is chaotic, and that is self-discipline. Self-discipline makes the difference between order and chaos, between punctuality and always running late, between lashing out in impatience and controlling my anger.

But, frankly, even the thought of self-discipline turns me off. I immediately think of a strait-jacket—of never having any fun, of being a robot whose only thought is, “What is the next thing I must do?”

Then I discovered that self-discipline, or self-control, is part of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. It’s one of the characteristics we will have in our lives when we lovingly obey God in His strength and power. I can no more produce self-control in my life by my own efforts than I can tie an apple on a tree and expect it to grow. God has to do it.

Ask God to fill you with His Spirit, and you will find self-control becoming more and more a natural part of your life.