"For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11
I am learning that a lot of the "issues" that I encounter stem back to a lack of discipline. Whether it be with my mouth, in my mind, my health, my finances, or even my time and priorities. One of my favorite quotes says, No life ever grows great until it is disciplined..." Granted, having discipline takes A LOT of hard work and is a continual thing, but it has great rewards. We inherit the joy, peace, and happiness that God has for us when we are disciplined.
One of my favorite things to tell my students is "anything worth having is worth working for." You cannot expect to make good grades in school if you are not disciplined to study . You cannot expect to have a great marriage if you are not disciplined to consider the other person and not let outside distractions come in and corrupt it. You cannot expect to get a job promotion if you are not disciplined enough to be on time and do what is expected of you. It's time out for "getting by." We have to start going above and beyond the call of duty. We must stop looking in the past and making excuses and start getting focused and carrying out the things that God has put before us to do. To do a thing great, we must give 200%. There is no room for mediocracy.
When I become disciplined in a thing, I feel empowered. I have self-respect and I never have to feel bad because I came up short. A lack of discipline leaves you feeling stressed, unfocused, and like a failure. When I am not disciplined I feel like a hamster in a wheel: moving real fast, but going absolutely no where.
I challenge each of you to look within yourselves (pray for God to show you yourself) and work on gaining discipline in an area that you have been slacking. Whether it be your time with God, cleaning the house, being attentive to the needs of your spouse, raising your children, your job, etc...
Read Hebrews 12:6-10. It basically tells us that God corrects and disciplines us for our certain good. It's not just by chance, but for our GOOD! Also as parents we have to be disciplined in raising our children. They will only be as disciplined as their parents. So let's start today by leading by example.
May God's blessings be upon each and every one of you. Love you all!
