"But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)" Romans 8:9 NLT
Cambridge Dictionary defines willpower as the ability to control your own thoughts and behavior, especially in difficult situations. And according to Runner's World Magazine, building up your willpower can actually make you a better runner. But how do you build up or strengthen it? The science behind building any muscle, they say, applies to willpower too-the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. And the stronger your willpower becomes, the better able you are to wield it to power through a hard workout, choose carrots over cake and opt for recovery sleep over a late-night Netflix binge.
And you know, when it comes to having the willpower to resist and refrain from the thoughts and behaviors that cause us to sin, the Bible tells us that we were given that ability and were no longer controlled by our "sinful nature" when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean that you and I will never have the desire to sin or satisfy the flesh again. But it does mean that, when those desires or urges arise, we will have the ability to say 'no' to them-through the power of the "Spirit of God" living in us. Now that's some divine willpower isn't it?
So may we strengthen our "Spirit" given willpower daily by doing those things we know we should (Bible study, exercise and healthy eating) and abstaining from those things we know we shouldn't. Doing so will not only make us better runners but, more importantly, better representatives of Christ.
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit to live inside us and guide our decisions and actions. Above all, may we discipline ourselves to spend time in your Word daily that we might discern what we should and should not do and equip ourselves with the willpower to act upon that knowledge. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
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