Rule Yourself

Daily Devotional: Day 60

“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls” (Proverbs 25:28, KJ21).

Before you decide to rule over others, learn first to rule over your own spirit. The Lord has endowed you with enormous spiritual strength through your new birth in Christ. To succeed in your Christian calling, God wants you to exercise control over yourself. If you’re going to stay on the winning side, the first thing you must conquer is yourself. Let’s look at today’s Bible verse. The Word of God says that he who has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls. If you lose control over yourself, you’ve lost control of your life. As the Bible tells us, when you can’t rule your own spirit, you’re like a city that is broken down, and a city without walls. This means you become vulnerable to invasion by forces that seek to destroy you. Due to the inability to rule their own spirit, many people have brought needless pain on themselves and on others.

Some people have the lust for controlling others. They forget that real control begins with controlling yourself, your emotions, your passions, your anger, your eating and drinking habits, etc. You’re more likely to master external factors if you can master yourself first. That’s the meaning of ruling over your own spirit. The best form of control is self-control. When you learn to control your own spirit, you won’t desire to control others. Another implication of today’s Bible verse is that, if you rule your own spirit, you’re like a city whose walls are intact. This means you can resist the assault of dark forces that seek to ruin your life. The Devil can’t rule over you, if you rule yourself. How do you rule yourself? It’s not complicated. Start by submitting to the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Through submission, you’ll learn to rule your own spirit. And when you rule your own spirit, your heart will be at rest; you shall not be restless in life.  

Prayer:

Dear Father, you have created me for a higher calling. Give me the ability to rule over my own spirit as I submit to your will. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

For further study: Genesis 4:1-16