Slow Down!

Screech….

The brakes did their job, but you could smell burnt brake pads. The accident did not happen, but man, was it close. My heart rate was accelerated and I felt uncomfortable.

Have you ever been extremely close to a wreck? It instills a deep desire in you to try to avoid those situations in the future. I remember my Driver’s Ed teacher in high school saying we should stop with enough distance to see the tires of the car in front of us.

Let me introduce you to a really cool word!

Are you familiar with the word sophron?

Such a great word!

Quick meaning could be ~ put on the brakes ~ according to Nancy Wolgemuth in her book, “Adorned: Living Out The Beauty of the Gospel Together” (p. 163).

Sometimes there are natural pauses where it is easy to use the time to reflect on the things you are thankful for. Like we just finished a weeklong module of teaching in Egypt. It was easy to stop, during the week and after the week was done, to recount what we were thankful for.

• That we had the joy of teaching this material to godly adults
• The students were enthusiastic and loving toward us and the teaching
• That we ourselves were encouraged by reviewing the truths from God’s Word
• That we had a chance to help buy new TV’s to replace the old small ones, improving future visual learning in that classroom
• Camaraderie with fellow staff and teachers

But sometimes, it is not so easy to stop and list things you are thankful for, especially when something or someone needs fixing! The Apostle Paul was concerned for the churches every day (2 Corinthians 11:28), yet when he wrote to those churches about urgent issues they were facing, he would put on the brakes and begin his letters by giving thanks for them before he would address different matters.

Self-Controlled Th(i)nkfulness

Reading through Titus 2, we find an exhortation for sober-minded self control.

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled (Titus 2:1-5).

Paul’s words are commending seriousness. There is a need for women to exercise self-control. Leaders in the church also need these qualities.

A new song we sang a few Sundays ago at our Phoenix Fellowship here in Durban, South Africa, drove home this point. The unusual title of the song was, “Give Me Self-Control.”

Self control is curbing your impulses and emotions, but it also includes controlling your pace, your pauses, and your pondering such that you keep a sane and sound mind. So many people are “run” by their job, their children, their pets, or the expectations of family and friends. Putting on the brakes to think thanks is an integral part of regaining a sound mind.

Resolutely untangling myself from the anxious demands of the next item on my to-do list, I have an opportunity to regain a balanced perspective, to see the strong hand of my sovereign God above all that is happening, to be mindful of hasty choices I am making, and to recommit myself to live slowly enough to discern His will and way for me.

I know that He desires me to think thanks in every circumstance because He tells me in His Word (I Thessalonians 5:18). But most often I need to stop in order to think. The impulse to be driven by outside demands must be controlled. So, choosing to be characterized by sophron, I am in a good place to develop a practice of thinking thanks.

Putting on the brakes in my life doesn’t mean I am not still busy doing the job set before me. It means that I am allowing the Holy Spirit to help me proceed with self control and wisdom.

When we’re not sophron, we don’t have any margin or heart for kindness.”

“Adorned,” Nancy DeMoss Woldemuth

A Little Introspection

Are you sophron? Does that describe or characterize you? It should.

Why not start fostering that quality in your life today?

Take a moment to put the brakes on. Slow down your pace and emotions, cherish your pauses, and meditate on truth. Regain a sound mind through self-control. You did that by stopping to read this blog post. Well done! The Holy Spirit is with you, inside you, and can help you become peaceful and trusting of the Lord’s sovereignty in your life.

Write down seven things that you are thankful for right now. And a step further share those seven things with a good friend. It’s edifying to them, too.