I would never have described myself as disciplined. Thoughtful, thinker, exuberant? Yes. Disciplined, athletic? No.
My body hurts from martial arts tonight. My knees are swelled and bruised from doing floor drills. My hips ache from doing a lot of "knee-ups" and burpees. My wrists hurt from punching and striking. But despite that, I have a gritty satisfaction in knowing that I persevered.
On my way home, the verse 1 Corinthians 9:27 came to mind - "I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified."
When I got home, I looked up the passage and read the verse in context -
"Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. Therefore, I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified." - 1 Corinthians 9:25-27
Jesus has been revealing to me the past few months that I need to be more disciplined. In choices I'm making. In spending time with Him. In physically pushing myself. As I walk through this journey, sometimes I glance back to see how far I've come. I want the fullest life possible, and in order to do that, I have started to take action in disciplining my life in several areas.
We often look at discipline as a bad thing..."I got spanked as my discipline as a kid"...when in fact, in the Bible, discipline is done out of love. It is what a good father does. It prepares us and equips us for the journey ahead. Yes, the training sucks sometimes. Yes, sometimes tears are shed and hearts are hurt. Yes, sometimes we come out with bruises and bumps. But our hearts? They become prepared and disciplined and ready to fight.
I have a long way to go with this whole discipline thing, but I'm working on it. I'm going to class even when I feel unmotivated. I'm setting aside time for devotions. I'm being careful of what I put in my body.
Currently I have on my chalkboard a quote from J.R.R Tolkien. "It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit." It encourages me to wake up to this each morning as I prepare my mind, body, and soul.
What is a part of your body or life that you need to discipline?
Is your mouth spewing venom and ungodliness?
Does your hand keep reaching for unhealthy food?
Are you spending time with Jesus often?
Are you spending money unwisely?
Is pride holding you back from asking for help?
What encourages you to be disciplined? For me, it's accountability. Fitness Apps that I do with friends, paying for and showing up to martial arts classes are 2 of the ways I get held accountable.
Instead of being frustrated or discouraged about areas you are learning to be disciplined in, change your mindset to look at it as training. We all have areas we are working on, and that's okay! The point is to keep going, even when we feel like quitting. You can do it!!
"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Sir Edmund Hillary
My body hurts from martial arts tonight. My knees are swelled and bruised from doing floor drills. My hips ache from doing a lot of "knee-ups" and burpees. My wrists hurt from punching and striking. But despite that, I have a gritty satisfaction in knowing that I persevered.
On my way home, the verse 1 Corinthians 9:27 came to mind - "I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified."
When I got home, I looked up the passage and read the verse in context -
"Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. Therefore, I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified." - 1 Corinthians 9:25-27
Jesus has been revealing to me the past few months that I need to be more disciplined. In choices I'm making. In spending time with Him. In physically pushing myself. As I walk through this journey, sometimes I glance back to see how far I've come. I want the fullest life possible, and in order to do that, I have started to take action in disciplining my life in several areas.
We often look at discipline as a bad thing..."I got spanked as my discipline as a kid"...when in fact, in the Bible, discipline is done out of love. It is what a good father does. It prepares us and equips us for the journey ahead. Yes, the training sucks sometimes. Yes, sometimes tears are shed and hearts are hurt. Yes, sometimes we come out with bruises and bumps. But our hearts? They become prepared and disciplined and ready to fight.
I have a long way to go with this whole discipline thing, but I'm working on it. I'm going to class even when I feel unmotivated. I'm setting aside time for devotions. I'm being careful of what I put in my body.
Currently I have on my chalkboard a quote from J.R.R Tolkien. "It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit." It encourages me to wake up to this each morning as I prepare my mind, body, and soul.
(It's not hung crooked, I just took the picture crooked)
What is a part of your body or life that you need to discipline?
Is your mouth spewing venom and ungodliness?
Does your hand keep reaching for unhealthy food?
Are you spending time with Jesus often?
Are you spending money unwisely?
Is pride holding you back from asking for help?
What encourages you to be disciplined? For me, it's accountability. Fitness Apps that I do with friends, paying for and showing up to martial arts classes are 2 of the ways I get held accountable.
Instead of being frustrated or discouraged about areas you are learning to be disciplined in, change your mindset to look at it as training. We all have areas we are working on, and that's okay! The point is to keep going, even when we feel like quitting. You can do it!!
"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." - Sir Edmund Hillary
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