05/03/2026
Day 15 of Lent 🤍
Learning Self-Control
On the daily we lose ourselves to the smallest things.
A rushed moment.
A careless word.
A reaction that didn’t really need to happen.
Before we know it, we’ve spoken something we wish we could take back, or we’ve responded from emotion instead of grace.
Lent gently calls us back.
Back to awareness.
Back to patience.
Back to kindness.
Back to the quiet discipline of self-control.
Scripture reminds us what love looks like:
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
— 1 Corinthians 13:4–8
Now try something different today.
Read the verse again… but replace the word “love” and “it” with your own name.
For example:
“Tammy is patient, Tammy is kind.
Tammy does not envy, Tammy does not boast, Tammy is not proud…”
Pause with that for a moment.
Because this is the character God is shaping within us. Not perfection — but transformation.
And we see this lived out in Jesus.
When He was fasting in the wilderness, hungry and physically weak, He was tempted to turn stones into bread. Yet He did not react out of impulse. Instead, He answered with truth and restraint.
Jesus answered, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
— Matthew 4:4
Self-control is not silence.
It is strength guided by wisdom.
It is the pause before speaking.
The breath before reacting.
Choosing grace when it would be easier to react.
Today, practise the pause.
Speak gently.
Respond wisely.
Softly. 🫴🤍