The Benefits of Spiritual Discipline
A great compliment to anyone is they were disciplined in their craft. To have discipline means to consistently do the hard things well when there are easier options. Anyone can spend hours and hours doing mindless activities like watching TV or scrolling through social media. Like the saying, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” Discipline means you opt out of doing certain activities to practice a skill repeatedly to become the best version of yourself.
We see discipline in athletes like Kobe Bryant, who one summer took a thousand shots per day, or Michael Phelps who won several gold medals in the Olympics. We also see discipline in professionals like attorneys, chefs, engineers, doctors, accountants, and more. Skilled people got there because they forewent activities outside of their craft to better themselves in their craft.
Imagine you have an unhealthy friend who is in a relationship with a great person that’s into fitness. At the beginning of the relationship, your friend is reluctant to change their habits, but because they like this person they are willing to give it a try. After a while, your friend starts to reap the benefits of being in a relationship with this person. Your friend is slimmer, eating better, having a better attitude, and overall healthier. In fact, some of your friend’s new habits are starting to have an impact on you. This is what happens to us when we develop spiritual discipline.
Discipline can be hard to develop at first. But focus on the small wins. You spent ten minutes with God, you felt led to buy someone’s coffee, you went a little deeper in your Bible study, or you didn’t get distracted. Those small wins turn into big wins. Big wins like you prayed with a friend, you led worship at your church, or you didn’t get mad at a situation you normally would have. Spiritual discipline has many benefits.
1. A Closer relationship with God.
2. Fruits of the Spirit are developed in your life.
3. You’re obedient to God. You have opportunities to do wrong and be justified in it, yet you choose righteousness.
4. Spiritual discipline becomes easier, and you look forward to it.
Questions for Reflection:
1. Do you consider yourself to be a self-disciplined person?
2. Is there an area in your life that you feel like you need to work on? If so, what is it? Ask God to help you strengthen this area of your life.
