Hebrews 12:11 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.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments” – Jim Rohn.
The bridge of discipline is the precondition to goal setting and vision. If the bridge of discipline is not built before setting goals, we are sure to fail. Most kids don’t enjoy school because no one enjoys discipline. However, a child who is not disciplined will not be able to progress.
The Israelites who were delivered from Egypt were also like adamant kids who refused to learn their lesson and discipline themselves. God put them through test after test but they continued to rebel, revile, complain and crib about everything. The Lord replied… not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times (Numbers 14:20&22). Ten times could be an actual or a rhetorical number but we can arrive at ten different times Israel rebelled against God during their journey to the Promised Land. As they did not pass the test and protested instead of praising every time they encountered a hurdle, they went around the same mountain over and over again and failed to inherit the Promised Land.
Those who refuse to be spiritually disciplined will remain in a life of dissatisfaction and dryness throughout their life. The difficulties we face are to inculcate spiritual discipline in us. Anyone who has achieved their goal will accredit their achievement to their discipline.
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John C Maxwell.
Spiritual discipline is the bridge to spiritual success:
1. Achieve: Everyone who runs the spiritual race will be rewarded. Run in such a way as to take the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24). The way we run will determine the prize or the reward. A soldier who can never be defeated in his mind will always be successful. Winston Churchill in his famous speech ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ empowered the army mentally, to win the battle physically. He propagated “however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival” and energized his combating comrades. Achievers fine-tune their mind to win.
2. Assign: The Lord may not be able to assign additional tasks until we are successful in the given task. If we are not faithful to the assignments that God has entrusted with us, He will not be able to entrust us with more. If we don’t cherish our own family, He will not be able to expand our boundaries to be a blessing to others. Spiritual discipline enlarges our domain of influence.
3. Applaud: When we see spiritual growth, there is always spiritual discipline that endorses the promotion. A disciplined prayer life, methodical Bible reading, fasting and interceding yields great harvest. The harvest does not come without ploughing, seeding, watering and nurturing. Cultivating good spiritual disciplines bring applaud and appreciation.
No one likes discipline but without spiritual discipline there is no harvest.
Romans 5:3b-4 We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, grant me the spiritual stamina to discipline myself to reap a plentiful harvest. Amen
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