‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? ‘ Matthew 16:24-26(NLT)
‘And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.’ Romans 12:1-2(NLT)
‘Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.’ 1 Corinthians 3:16-17(NLT)
‘After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord ’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.’ Hebrews 12:4-11(NLT)
‘So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”’ 1 Peter 1:13-17(NLT)
‘Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.’ Proverbs 12:14(NLT)
‘Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24(NLT)
‘So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.’ 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12(NLT)
Maybe you made it to day three of your new workout plan, or even eight days into your new eating plan or One Year Bible reading plan. Then life happened and you didn’t get back to it. Maybe you gave up Dr Pepper or Diet Coke, but the craving overpowered you and you gave in. Or, you were going to give up saying ”that” word, but it slipped right past your lips. You didn’t mean to give up. Your “want-to” simply gave out and it was too hard to continue. How can we overcome our weakness to push through and stick with things we know are His best for us?
Discipline. Ugh. We are not very good at it. We try and try, and our best intentions take flight.
In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul talks about buffeting his body. Disciplining his body into submission and obedience to the Holy Spirit and making it his slave. He is training his body into new behavior. The Greek word translated to discipline in this verse is actually so strong: it means beating your body until it is black and blue! Ouch. That’s harsh discipline. With Paul’s realization that he is the dwelling place of God, body, soul, and spirit, he tells his body what to do and does not allow his body to decide for him.
We have this same opportunity, but we are weak students who lack self-control. Being a disciplined person goes against our nature of self-protection and ease. Being resistant to inflicting pain upon our own bodies, we give up. Our plans don’t last. Getting up early to read your Bible is no fun when you’ve been up with a kid or three in the night. It’s painful to make yourself climb out of a warm bed when you are finally sleeping well. Those sweets are a reward after a hard day, and a Dr Pepper would taste so good! We give up on exercise when we get sore, and one more burpee is more than we can fathom. But, to be His disciple means we will suffer. To suffer with him is the radical calling and choice to be recreated into His likeness (2 Timothy 2:12; Philippians 1:29).
Wouldn’t it be a comforting thought to believe that since Jesus took our sins and was physically beaten, we won’t have to go through a physical “beating”, a disciplining of our own bodies? This is not what scripture tells us (1 Peter 4:1-2).
But, there is good news for you and me! We are not on our own. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit of God Who lives in us! Through a loving, living relationship, and a heart willing to please Him, our ability to become a disciplined person takes on new meaning. Discipline becomes tangible because it is the willing response of a heart turned fully to Him. We are no longer working on self-improvement because our changed heart creates a changed mind, giving us His ability, the powerful self-control, to press forward in obedience.
We honor ourselves and our King, when our discipline comes from the inside, affecting change on the outside. It is a willing suffering to become all that He has called us to be. Honestly, this type of suffering that we so often resist is trivial compared to those who have given their lives rather than to deny Jesus.
No more beating ourselves up over our failures. But, we must be willing to shut down our cravings and laziness and be submitted to who He has truly called us to be, mind, soul, and body. We must be willing to do the hard work.
Self-discipline, being His disciple, is aligning ourselves to a set of principles that have great purpose. Becoming a disciplined person not only decides our future, it also determines the quality of our life today. Be disciplined. He’s right there with you, giving you the power and ability to continue, even when it is difficult.
Oh, Father. These words shake me up. You know my tendencies to start something and quit. I realize that my choices affect my future and my now, and are an example to my family. My choices show what I believe about You, and I repent of my laziness. I pray for the fortitude and determination to make my body respond to Your Spirit, to Your gift of self-control. I know I am Your daughter, and I choose to represent You well. Right now, I submit myself and my excuses to You willingly. I will boldly write down today’s date as a marker of the day I chose to be all in—even in my weakest areas—and I will tell someone so they can hold me accountable. May my desires become Your desires for me to be all You have created me to be. I’m excited at the freedom to come!
Consider reading today’s scriptures from The Message
from Overwhelmed By My Blessings (Part 9)