The Fight To Be Disciplined!

Uggh!! I really dislike this topic. I've had a hate hate relationship with this word from ever since I can remember. Yes I meant to say hate hate. Now don't get me wrong. I know and understand the real true long lasting rewards of being disciplined. But the getting there is the battle. Why is this so hard? Has anyone ever really taken the time to get to the bottom of this? 

Discipline. Who likes this? Can we even blame our children when they are belligerent to our imposed forms of discipline? We subject them to it because we believe in administering appropriate forms of discipline to help them form wholistic characters. They cry, complain, throw tantrums, and, as they get older challenge us with arguments that leave us stumped, to which our reply generally is "Do as I say, not as I do". I've actually said to my son "because I asked you to", when I had no reason I could give for telling him to carry out a certain directive. Now, I could explain to him, but, I felt that it was inappropriate at the time and at his age he wouldn't understand even if I did try to explain. There are just times when you know the understanding will only come with adult maturity.

As parents we understand that discipline takes our child in a direction they would otherwise not choose for themselves, but that will mold them for the future life that will make certain demands of them. Speaking of discipline, I want to be understood that I'm not simply speaking about spanking, which may be appropriate at certain ages, but that no longer does the job as children get older. I think we can all agree that it encompasses far more than a few spanks here and there. On a much larger scale, it seeks to correct behaviors and attitudes that will make for a very miserable, unsatisfactory and unfulfilling life if left unchecked. It seeks to develop integrity of character through different methods so that life will not be a burden for the one being disciplined.

Imagine if one of our children never learned, for example, the benefit of being organized and consistent, yet they realize that they have a love for, say, the medical profession, specifically surgery. How critical would it be then, for them to learn to be organized and consistent. Mistakes can cost patients their lives, and in many cases, they do. 

Cleary, ill-discipline can impede any progress in life and can quite literally cost the life or lives of others. I know this sounds heavy but sometimes the truth is heavy. I once heard this statement, "How we do anything is how we do everything." I'm not sure I fully agree because I see folks excel at things they love and give poor attention to other areas of their lives. What I do know is it's essential for us to excel in those areas that have major impact in our lives and that will also impact the lives of others.

So I hear you Sis. This discipline thing seems to be really difficult to get under my belt. I understand completely. God's got you.

 If there's one thing I know about my Heavenly Father is that He knows just how to help us and in the process He never makes us feel ashamed. 

Our Father is so patient with us it's almost ridiculous. He will wait almost a lifetime for us. Well I have to say almost because He can't do anything for us after we're gone so it's imperative that we get started working on ourselves right now. We don't have to try to change every area all at once. This will take time. What happens with us is that we tend to give up when we don't see results quickly enough. Well, can I tell you that another part of discipline is actually developing patience. With ourselves. Yes. When we learn to be patient with ourselves we will be able to show that grace to others. We cannot give something we do not possess. Lightbulb moment. Discipline does not simply prepare us to handle life in terms of responsibilities, careers, family etc. but it helps us develop better relationships with ourselves and others. It works on the unseen qualities that take root in our heart that affect the integrity of our character.

Be patient with the process and know that it works and that it will work for you. It has worked for others, doctors, entertainers etc. Everyone has had to discipline themselves, work hard, be consistent and be patient in order to get where they hoped to get in life. You're not the exception. Regardless of your talents and gifts you must put in the work. Start by making one small change in your routine. Commit to doing something everyday ( you choose what that thing is), that will add more balance to and shape your life. 

As an example, try walking for ten minutes every day if you're trying to improve your health and up the time as your stamina increases.

This may seem like something really small. Ten minutes seems like it's too little for some. Understand that we're working on changing our behavior. The amount of time is not the real issue, consistency is. With consistency you WILL see results. Our brain changes when we give it challenges and we will soon feel uncomfortable if we skip our workout or whatever it is that we decided to fit into our daily schedule. You will begin feeling better about yourself and seeing the improvements will give you the motivation to keep going. 

Okay so some final words of encouragement ladies. 

Don't quit on yourself. There's something inside of you that the enemy knows is there that you have yet to discover.

I love the Biblical account of Gideon because it makes me smile at how God has such character and personality. He speaks to us in a way that seems foreign at first but because He is all knowing we soon realize that if we listen to Him we can't miss it.

Just take a look at this.

Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat down under the Terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, The Lord is with you, you ,mighty man of valor. NKJV Judges 6;11,12

What tickles me about this situation is that God calls Gideon mighty man of valor and he knows nothing about war. Furthermore, he is out here HIDING from the Midianites and GOD CALLS HIM MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR. HAA!!! Seriously God? Do you not see this man hiding and yet you're calling him mighty man of valor. Well isn't God the All Knowing and All Seeing God?? If we continue reading this account we find out that God goes on to use Gideon to deliver Israel from thousands of Midianites using only three hundred men. Shocker I know.

Aren't we like Gideon at times? Hiding when we need to be out front. I'm talking to myself too ya'll. God has placed in us gifts that will help us help others and we selfishly withhold ourselves from serving believing that we have nothing to offer. Some of us truly don't recognize the extent of our gifting but others of us know and see the impact we have. 

My personal experience is that God truly does know what's in you even when you question it yourself. I once received gift for being consistent in ministry and I said God really? You know I'm struggling. He said but the seed was already planted in you. You just need to nurture it again. You let it die out to an extent but now it's time to nurse it back to health. I was pretty consistent in my roles in church as a teenager but since coming to the united states and going through some life changes and a series of bad decisions I let it get away from me. God was reminding me of the years when I was faithfully fulfilling my duty, even though on some level it was routine. Yet He wanted me to know that it was preparation for the greater work that He had for me to do for such a time as this.

God is famous for calling us by our true identity. He called Gideon and He is calling you too. Gideon had some preparations to make, yes. But his most important preparation was obedience. Don't worry about how far you are or how ill-disciplined you are. Use what you have and give it to God right now. Gideon had three hundred men that God gave him. Left to him he would have taken thousands of men but God wants to show us that it's Him who's accomplishing the task in us. He simply needs our obedience.

 

In God's method of discipline, part of the work that's being done in us is learning to serve God by serving others. Let's discipline ourselves to always respond and follow through immediately when we hear Him call. It's the greatest and most important discipline of all.

                                                          Praying For You Always!!