A 3″D” Relationship with God (pt. 3) – Discipline
The third “D” to a 3- D life with God is Discipline. I’m sure the very word produces a response in you. The reason I know that is because it produces a response in me – and most of the time if I am honest the response has something to do with guilt.
For many of us the story of Discipline has a common thread woven throughout our different experiences. You desire to be physically healthy – but you’re unwilling to work hard at it. You desire to know God’s Word – but you are unwilling to discipline yourself to set aside a time in the day to focus on reading and meditating on it. You desire to be financially free – but are not willing to say no to the designer jeans that everyone else has. You desire to be patient with your kids – but when you have found yourself saying 15 times “Please – share with your Sister” – it’s on the 16th time that unfortunately you loose our cool.
There are so many things that I desire to do in my lifetime – but at times I am just plain unwilling to put the hard discipline to the test to make it happen. But desire without discipline usually turns into dead dreams. It’s in the small and the big moments of life that I need discipline when I want that iced lemon loaf at Starbucks that would go so well with my coffee…to the courage that comes from disciplining myself to work hard at raising all of the necessary funds to start Soul City Church.
I was reading in proverbs today and this simple verse jumped out…
- “Slack habits & Sloppy work are as bad as vandalism”
- Proverbs 18:9
Wow – do I really believe that – do I really believe that my sloppy and flabby disciplines are as damaging to the personal property of my soul, as vandalism is to a building or home. I would be crushed if someone came into my home with a baseball bat and ripped through my rooms destroying what has become a sacred space for me and my family. I would be angry, sad, hurt, and would probably desire a certain amount of justice to be served.
Why don’t I have equally strong emotions when it comes to my sloppy disciplines. A vibrant and transforming relationship with God will require not a sloppy discipline – but one that is fueled with a steadfast faithfulness and commitment to the task of training your soul to do what was originally put within it to do.
So why don’t you try this simple exercise :: God I will discipline myself to….
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Here is what I wrote:
God I will discipline myself to have some significant conversations this week with some key people that are in the process of praying about their connection to Soul City Church. God I will discipline myself to drink more water – I confess my love of coffee – but I know coffee all day is not good for my body! God I will discipline myself to put my cell phone and laptop away from 4:30 – 8:00 so that I am present with my family. God I will discipline myself in my writing this week – I will complete a chapter by Monday. Because I believe that desire without discipline usually turns into nothing more than dead dreams.
a 3 “D” Relationship with God (pt. 2)
(part 2 of 3)
Somewhere along the way being FINE became our facade for spiritually mature. Many of us have believed a dreadful lie that it’s better to cut ourselves off from desire – than to actually live into the depth of all that we long for in life. When someone asks how we are doing we robotically puke our canned response “I’m doing fine – How are you?” Most of the time I think we are just waiting for the other person to return our question with the same response… “Thanks for asking – I’m doing Fine also.”
What would you do if someone responded to your question with – “I am in the middle of pleading for God to give me the deepest desires of my heart – it is overwhelming, filled with raw emotion, sometimes I am anxious and afraid, I honestly wonder what I will do if this doesn’t happen, etc….how are you?” Most of us have a hard time living that deep into our desires – or if we do we struggle with feeling like our desires reveal immaturity – instead of maturity. But desire is essential in our life if we long to live completely ALIVE in Jesus.
I love what John Eldridge says in his book, “Desire“
“Why are we so embarrassed by our desire? Why do we pretend we’re doing fine, thank you, that we don’t need a thing? The persistent widow wasn’t too proud to seek help. Neither was the psalmist. Their humility allowed them to express their desire. How little we come to God with what really matters to us. How rare it is that we even admit it to ourselves. We don’t pray like Jesus because we don’t allow ourselves to be nearly so alive. We don’t allow ourselves to feel how desperate our situation truly is. We sense that our desire will undo us if we let it rise up in all its fullness. Wouldn’t it be better to bury the disappointment and the yearning and just get on with life? As Larry Crabb has pointed out, pretending seems a much more reliable road to Christian maturity. The only price we pay is a loss of soul, of communion with God, a loss of direction, and a loss of hope.”
I (Jeanne) am realizing that to step out onto the wobbly faith limb of starting this church has been one of the greatest movements that could have happened in our life. I no longer go through any kind of canned motion when it comes to my desires. I am acutely aware of my desires every day and it has allowed me to live in a healthy desperation for God.
So why don’t you try this spiritual exercise – Finish the thought, “God my deepest desires are…”
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Here is what I wrote
- God I desire for you to lead me towards the people that you have already prepared to be a part of soul city church. Increase my desire to trust that you will direct and prompt them and that I won’t need to convince or beg people to come. God I desire for you to regularly surprise me with the provision of our financial resources for our family and for Soul City Church – increase my desire for sacrifice. God I desire for you to simply sell our house. God I desire to be more humble, honest, and bold in my leadership. God I desire to be more patient, fun, and silly with my kids this week.
We would love for you to leave a comment with what YOU put in that space of DESIRE. It is such a simple exercise and such a good reminder to not let DESIRE die in your life.
And make sure to check back over the next few days to hear how DESIRE works together with Discipline and Dependence.
