15 Encouraging Bible Verses About Self Discipline | How to Cultivate Self Control
As a professional coach who helps young professionals develop excellent money management skills, I understand that cultivating self discipline is a major challenge for many people. Being able to have good self control when it comes to your spending is an important skill to build up.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV)
Paul shares with us that self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit. Self discipline and control are important skills to develop for a multitude of reasons. We use it to resist temptations, to flee from sin, to stay on track with our goals, to keep up with our personal budgets, to help us do good work, and more!
It is a part of our human nature that we give in to our evil desires or worldly lusts, and follow our own spirit. It may feel impossible to conquer those desires and have self control, but that doesn’t mean you should ever just give up. You must always get back up after a failed attempt, for the glory of God.
In this article, we will explore some of the most encouraging Bible verses about self discipline and self control to help you on your own journey to produce this fruit in your own life.
Related: 57 Bible Verses About Gratitude That Will Inspire You
15 Bible Verses About Self Discipline
Hebrews 12:11 NIV
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
1 Peter 4:7 NIV
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
James 4:7 NIV
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Proverbs 25:28 NIV
Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.
2 Peter 1:5-7 NIV
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Philippians 4:13 NIV
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Romans 5:3-5 NIV
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us
1 Corinthians 7:5 NIV
Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Titus 2:11-14 NIV
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Philippians 1:4-6 NIV
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 NIV
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Biblical Tips for Cultivating Self Control
Did you see some patterns in these Bible verses about self discipline?
The truth is that God desires for you to become a model of self control to the world. It is one way in which you and I can build up the Kingdom of God – by showing others what a Christian life looks like. Taking control of your past habits, whether it is with your personal money management, as I help my clients with, or something like your health and relationships, is possible!
There are a few main tips that I would suggest you try out in order to help cultivate self discipline and self control in your own life no matter what you are working towards.
Spend More Time in the Word
The best way to escape your temptations is to draw near to our savior Jesus Christ and the knowledge of God! We are taught that the Word of God is the sword of the spirit (Read Ephesians 6). So when you spend more time studying and meditating on the instruction of the Lord you will begin to develop a weapon in which you can fight against temptations
If you’re looking for a fun way to dive back into God’s word daily, I highly recommend the brand new BibleProject app! Here are a few faith and money devotionals on the Bible App as well.
Develop Good Habits
Self control becomes a lot easier when you develop good habits in your life.
Habits help you automate good self discipline. When you can make something a habit it becomes second hand nature to do the things you actually want to do, like eating healthy, going to the gym, reading your Bible daily, or drinking more water!
Educate yourself with Biblical truths and practical applications. In Proverbs, we read, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.”
Some good habits to work on are reading your Bible consistently, budgeting regularly, and taking care of your health.
Some great books on building good habits:
- Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Raynor
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Set and Track Your Goals
The Bible gives a lot of evidence that setting goals is a healthy way to improve your self-discipline.
As Peter Drucker once said, “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.” Set goals and measure your improvements. If you are working on improving your personal finances, it isn’t enough to just examine how you feel about your money at the end of the month. You need to track how you are doing. The easiest way to do that is with a budget, tracking your net worth, and tracking your giving.
If you are trying to have better self control with your eating and health, keep a food journal. If you are trying to improve your relationships, I’d recommend keeping a schedule and planning times with your significant others often.
Whatever you are trying to improve, make sure to set measurable goals. Measurable goals will ensure that you are actually making progress!
Don’t Do It Alone
I highly recommend finding a buddy or joining a group of like-minded individuals to help you. Accountability is truly one of the keys to self discipline and leading a Godly life. It is a good thing to have someone who is keeping tabs on you and who is willing to call you out when you need it.
If one of your goals is to improve your money management skills, I’d love for you to join us inside of the Redeeming Your Finances community where we work together to become excellent money managers for the glory of God and the good of others.
As the apostle Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 9:25, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
I believe that you are capable of great things if you seek the will of God with your whole body, mind, and spirit! The power of God is greater than the desires of the flesh.
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