Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) tells us, “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!”
As God’s sons and daughters, we have the light of Jesus Christ within us. We are children of the light, and never before has there been creations like us. 1 Thessalonians 5:5–6 (NLT) says, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.” God made us in His very own image, and He has given us the ability to know Him, have a relationship with Him, and reflect His character in the way we live.
Our bodies are masterfully designed. The psalmist expressed in Psalm 139:14 (NLT), “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” God brilliantly created us our beings with appetites, desires, and senses, and these all add so much flavor to life, but if we are not careful to follow His guidance, they can at times be overwhelming. The discipline that we exercise to keep ourselves in check and in alignment with the example of Christ is self-control.
01 — The Fruit: What Does It Mean?
Galatians 5:16–17 (NLT) teaches us, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”
God has made it crystal clear to us that an internal battle persists. It is between doing what His indwelling Holy Spirit wants us to do and doing what our flesh wants to do. This choice is ever before us.
When we speak of the flesh, we’re talking about our sinful nature—the part of us that wants to do things our own way instead of obeying God. This is something we all have to contend with, because ever since sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam, God’s first man, the flesh has been in rebellion against the Will of God. It wants to satisfy its own desires, and often these are yearnings for quick and temporary pleasure, without much thought about the consequences. But this is not how Heavenly Father wants His children to live. Through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has redeemed us from living under the control of our sinful nature. We can now choose to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit instead of allowing our flesh to govern our lives. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT) declares, “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have victory over sin through Christ, but again, it is our choice to walk in this victory.
Self-control isn’t simply a matter of having enough willpower to say no to something we want. There are plenty of people who don’t have a relationship with our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and some of them have no problem exercising discipline in certain areas of their lives. So self-control is more than sheer will and determination. The self-control we’re talking about is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It comes from yielding ourselves to His leadership and allowing Him to help us bring our desires, attitudes, and actions into agreement with God’s Word. We must recognize that everything we want isn’t necessarily good for us, and everything we feel doesn’t have to be acted upon.
02 — We See It in Jesus Christ
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given us the perfect example of self-control. Hebrews 4:15 (NLT) tells us, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” He was tempted, just as we are, but He never sinned. In Matthew 4:1–11, we learn that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where He fasted for forty days and forty nights. Afterward, He was very hungry, and satan came to tempt Him.
Think about that for a moment. Jesus had gone without food for forty days, and here comes satan, trying to take advantage of His physical weakness. But Jesus didn’t allow His physical need to move Him away from obedience to the Father. Each time satan tempted Him, Jesus answered with the Word of God. He wasn’t going to disobey His Father to satisfy His hunger, gain recognition, or receive something satan offered Him.
There’s a lesson here that we should never overlook. There’s nothing wrong with having needs and desires. God created us with them. But just because we want something, or even feel that we desperately need it, doesn’t mean we have the right to go outside the Will of God to get it. This is where self-control becomes so important. We must never allow our appetites and desires to become more important to us than our obedience to Heavenly Father.
Hunger isn’t sinful, and neither is wanting to enjoy the good things Heavenly Father has provided. The problem comes when we allow our desires to take charge of our decisions instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us. Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 6:33 (NLT), “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” He has shown us that obedience to the Father must come first, and we must follow His example.
03 — The Fruit in Action: A Biblical Example
One of the biblical examples that helps us understand self-control is Joseph’s experience in the household of Potiphar. Genesis 39 tells us that Joseph had been placed in charge of his master’s household, and God caused him to prosper in his responsibilities. But Potiphar’s wife began making advances toward Joseph, and she repeatedly pressured him to sleep with her.
Joseph refused. He understood that giving in to her demands would be a betrayal of his master’s trust, but more importantly, it would be a sin against God. In Genesis 39:9 (NLT), Joseph asked, “How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
Joseph could have tried to justify doing what she wanted. He was far from his family, living in a foreign land, and nobody from his father’s household was there to see what he did. But Joseph knew that God was with him. He didn’t allow his circumstances to become an excuse for disobedience. When Potiphar’s wife continued to pursue him and finally grabbed his cloak, Joseph ran away from her.
Now, that’s a lesson that really brings this home. Joseph didn’t stay there trying to see how much temptation he could handle. He got out of the situation. Sometimes exercising self-control means removing ourselves from circumstances that we know will lead us into sin. We shouldn’t deliberately place ourselves in temptation and then expect to remain strong simply because we have good intentions. We must be wise enough to recognize our weaknesses and obedient enough to follow God’s Word.
Joseph suffered because he refused to do what was wrong, but his faithfulness to God was not wasted. His example teaches us that self-control isn’t always going to make our circumstances easier. Sometimes it requires us to stand firm when giving in would seem to be the easiest way out.
04 — When the Holy Spirit Grows This Fruit in Us
A person who isn’t interested in producing the Spirit’s fruit in their life may never recognize the evidence of the Spirit’s power working within them. Arrogance can blind us to the areas where we need to change, and it can keep us from believing that through Christ, we have the strength to overcome the things that have held us back. God wants us to discern the difference between light and darkness so we will recognize the light of the Spirit working in us. The fruit we produce should give evidence that we are yielding our lives to Him.
Self-control requires us to yield to the Spirit, so that our thoughts, words, and deeds are pleasing to God. We should never want to grieve the Holy Spirit by walking in a manner that is unworthy of our calling in Christ. Instead, we must surrender our whole lives to God through our Lord and Savior.
We should also understand that spiritual growth doesn’t mean we’ll never experience temptation again. There will still be things that appeal to our flesh, and there will be times when our emotions seem stronger than our willingness to obey. But we don’t have to surrender to every feeling that comes over us. The Holy Spirit is living within us, and He will help us recognize when we’re heading in the wrong direction. We have to listen to Him and be willing to make the changes He’s leading us to make.
And when we fall short, we shouldn’t pretend that nothing happened or make excuses for ourselves. We need to repent, ask God to forgive us, and get ourselves back in alignment with His Word. Self-control is part of the spiritual maturity that develops as we continue walking with the Holy Spirit. We aren’t going to grow if we keep resisting His correction.
05 — What This Fruit Looks Like in Our Lives Today
Heavenly Father is very transparent and told us in His Word that in this life, we may face many obstacles and adversities. As we learn to overcome through Christ, we may also be tempted to give in to anger, selfishness, blaming others, putting ourselves down, or turning to fear instead of clinging to our faith in God. In these times, we must pray to God and turn to the self-control that comes from His Holy Spirit.
We need self-control in so many areas of our lives. We need it when we’re angry and feel like saying something that we know will hurt another person. We need it when we’re tempted to spend money irresponsibly, eat more than our bodies need, or give our attention to things that aren’t good for us. We need it when we’re discouraged and feel like giving up on something God has called us to do. And we certainly need it when our pride gets in the way and we don’t want to admit that we’re wrong.
Sometimes the greatest struggle isn’t with something other people can see. It might be the thoughts we’re allowing to run through our minds, the resentment we’re holding on to, or the fear that keeps us from doing what God has told us to do. We can’t allow these things to control our lives. We have to bring them before Heavenly Father and ask Him to help us overcome them through His Spirit.
Self-control is something we must practice every day. We can’t expect to grow spiritually while continuing to give our flesh permission to do whatever it wants. We must make up our minds that pleasing God is more important than satisfying a temporary desire. This isn’t always easy, but Heavenly Father hasn’t left us to accomplish it on our own. He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us, correct us, and strengthen us.
He will always work within us when we demonstrate a willingness to surrender our will for the Will of God and to exercise the self-control that the Spirit gives us.
Examining Our Walk
- Are there areas of our lives where we’ve been allowing our feelings or desires to make decisions that should be governed by God’s Word?
- When we’re tempted to do something we know is wrong, are we listening to the Holy Spirit and following His guidance?
- Are we willing to surrender the habits, attitudes, and behaviors that are keeping us from growing in self-control?
Closing Scripture — 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“The Spirit’s Fruit — Self-Control”, written by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2026. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to encouraging and inspiring Christian Women to live boldly through God’s Word.
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