What are the fruits of true discipline and three reasons to discipline yourself this year!
I watched this movie with Queen Latifah called The Last Holiday. I really enjoyed it. And as I watched I realized my desire for luxury. I thought in my mind, I can go there too. For so long I lived with a limited mindset, now I know I can. The question is, should I? Should I go to Prague?
Fear Leads to Bondage
Discipline did not have her living in a box, a fear of new things kept her encaged.
Anyhow, the movie captures the life of a disciplined woman who excelled in all things but lives her life in a box. And when she got a faulty diagnosis from the doctor stating that she was going to die, she decided to spend all of her savings on a lavish trip to Prague, crossing off everything on her bucket list. When I watched the movie I identified with the main character. The woman living in a box, the box of other people’s approval. The summary described her as a disciplined woman and one might think that it was wrong what she did with her life. But what I see is that the issue with her life was not her discipline, it was her fear. Discipline did not have her living in a box, a fear of new things kept her encaged.
Indiscipline is NOT Freedom
I believe this can correct a lot of how we view discipline. Many people in our generation believe that indiscipline is somehow freeing. In reality, it is quite destructive. Doing things however and whenever you want, having no respect for elders and other human beings is not a form of freedom. It is a display of foolishness that will certainly be repaid. And when I speak of discipline, I do not simply refer to the human efforts of the billionaires you find in this world. I speak of training your flesh to submit to decrees of the kingdom. Let me give you 3 reasons why you should spiritually discipline yourself.
3 Reasons to Discipline Yourself
Spiritual Discipline is needed to grow continually.
Many times this happens, we go to a revival service or a 21 day Daniel fast and we are hot with fire, just flaming. Ready to conquer and do God’s work with an intimacy with him that has been rekindled but yet give it a couple of weeks and all of that is gone. Some of us fall so much that we even begin to wonder “How did I get here?”. Why does that happen? We have not trained ourselves enough to keep up with the stamina required for growth. So we just end up falling back down into the same cycles. And our lives end up looking like a rollercoaster ride. Up and then down and many more times stagnant than anything else. In order to see growth we must train ourselves to consistently do what it takes to grow, which means consistent prayer, fasting and consistent bible study. These activities can not stop at the end of your last fast and for you to expect to keep growing. The devil is already prowling around like a lion seeking whom he can devour. You must continue to keep the fire ablaze by your discipline and dedication to God.
Spiritual discipline is needed to be useful and effective in your environment in order to reflect the image of God and to produce fruit.
If the Lord be our source, we can not do anything apart from him. He said for us to abide in him and he would abide in us. It is futile for us to believe that we can live and be effective without him. And when you are declining, trust that other people around you can see that. If it be the strength of God through prayer that allows you to go into that office and dominate, what do you think will happen when you slack on discipline and stop praying? And the thing about it is that this world won't stop and wait for you. Your environment will place a demand on the value that you once produced and if you can no longer reproduce it some people will be quick to point it out. We must also be mindful to display the image of God on this earth through excellence which is not possible without spiritual discipline, also known as spiritual training.
Spiritual discipline is needed to properly manage what God has given to you.
A lack of self-control will squander everything the Lord has given you from money to relationships. A man of God once said that you lose everything you fail to properly manage. This couldn't be any more true, I am a witness. I have lost finances, relationships, opportunities- all due to mismanagement and a lack of discipline in my life. This lack of discipline, or should I say spiritual training, has caused me to display all sorts of fruits such as selfishness, vanity, pride and greed that directly affect how I am able to manage what God has given me. It is also known that you can only receive according to the level in which you can manage a thing. Like I said, in this day and age we have been trained to just do whatever and expect to receive more- yet that is simply not how it works.
True Discipline
So true spiritual discipline does not drain you of life, instead it gives much life. The word of God tells us that if you live by the dictates of the flesh you will surly die. But if you decided to kill the flesh and live by the Spirit you will find live in abundance (Romans 8:13). What truly makes discipline a restrictive burden is when it is coupled in with fear. Fear of losing money, losing time etc. This fear is what creates the cage the Lady from the movie found herself in. But we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear but one of power, love and self-discipline ( 2 Timothy 1:7). Spiritual discipline leads to freedom, fear leads to bondage.
Simply, Bev.
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