Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
If self-discipline could be measured, would you measure up? I’ve been reminding you that being a disciplined person is essential for success, and it certainly is a requirement for us as followers of Jesus Christ. Discipline is a spiritual issue. We will be accountable to the Lord for the use of our time, our skills and our resources, and you have to be disciplined to do that well.
I read this recently: “Stop looking for ways to boost your motivation. Success doesn’t come from having more motivation. It comes from doing what you need to do, even if you don’t have the motivation to do it. It’s called DISCIPLINE.”
This says that discipline must be imposed in our lives whether we feel like it or not. If your discipline depends on the mood you’re in, or whether you got a good night’s sleep or not, or if you just don’t feel so good, you will be a very sporadically disciplined person—on and off; hot and cold; inconsistent. As I said before, “Discipline is the ability to make yourself do something you don’t want to do in order to get a result you really want to get.”
Hebrews 12:11 says: “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.”
Becoming a more disciplined person means you will have a more peaceful life and the fruit of discipline will make you more mature in your faith. Discipline comes in many forms but any time you decide to be more disciplined in some needed area, you will grow spiritually and you will be more pleasing to the Lord.
If you need lots of discipline in your life, take baby steps—one thing at a time—because as you are successful in one area, you will want to be successful in others as well. You have much to look forward to—much peace and joy—as you become more and more disciplined in your life. So, choose the pain of discipline and not the pain of regret.
