Ruling Over Your Own Spirit

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Proverbs 16:32

Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls. Proverbs 25:28

God uses the clear illustration of an undefended and indefensible city to show us how important self control is to our spiritual protection. And He tells us that being able to rule our spirits makes us better than a person who merely has physical might to capture a physical city. This spiritual might or self control is the ability to rule over our own spirit; to judge all things by the word of God; to say yes to what pleases Him, and to reject or flee what He hates. It is important to give attention to this because destructive things do not just barge into our spirits or lives, they must first be given an invitation, or find an entrance or foothold. Broken down walls, that is, a weak and undefended spirit, leave us vulnerable. Such vulnerability will most certainly be taken advantage of by our spiritual enemies through a host of agents and strategies.

Many of the sinful attitudes and actions we struggle with continue to have strength against us simply because we do not follow confession with deep repentance, that is, a true and full repentance which involves taking time and making every effort to rebuild broken down walls in our lives. The primary materials for building or restoring a spirit that is strong enough to keep out enemies and protect ground gained are knowledge of and obedience to the Word of God, and prayer. And just as with a food diet for good health, quantity and quality are both important in our spiritual life if we are to bolster and repair our spirit's walls.