“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

They will run and not grow weary,

They will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:30-31

What is Discipline?

The word "discipline" is from the Latin word disciplina meaning "instruction and training". It's derived from the root word discere -- "to learn.”

Discipline is to study, learn, train, and apply a system of standards.

Discipline is not rules and regulations. Nor is it compliance. Discipline is not something others do to you, but something that you do for yourself.

I love to exercise, but when I first started running in college, I hated it. I was also terrible at it. I had bad form, awful time, and could only run for a couple of minutes at a time.

No one ever forced me to run. Well, except in middle school, but that didn’t last long. 

I decided that my vision of fitness included running and I trained and worked at it. I made a plan, pushed myself, and kept my goal in sight. I didn’t run when I felt like it. Let’s be honest, who feels like putting themselves through that? I went running when I was sore, had blisters, it was cold outside, raining, whatever. I made a commitment and I stuck to it.

I always kept in mind that the fruit of this discipline would be a healthy body and the identity of a runner. Of course, you can guess how the story goes. As time goes on, those things that were difficult in the beginning became much easier with time and practice. 

Worship Practice

I realized that my worship practice is a lot like this.

If I only worshipped God when I felt like it, I wouldn’t grow to have a healthy relationship with God and live in the identity of Jesus.

Our spiritual life grows when it is intentionally cultivated. Applying a disciplined practice to our worship has far-reaching effects on the rest of our life. 

Like the metaphor above, I would argue that the person who runs rarely and only when they feel like it, isn't a runner and isn't gaining most of the benefits they may desire. It's when I put worship into the rhythms of my life that I'm able to experience the effects that God desires for my life.

Short-Term Satisfaction

I often hear the world or my sinful nature telling me only to pursue what is easy, comfortable, and will bring short-term satisfaction. The effects of constantly engaging in this would ruin my heart, mind, body, relationships, and life.

If I only engage in worship when I feel like it, then there is a chance that my worship is not actually Christ-centered, but merely focused on the good feelings it brings to me.

I'm not saying that God doesn't move through me when I sporadically worship. However, God's love for me is constant, so, the outpouring of my worship to Him should be constant as well–not at the whims of my feelings.

Developing a Worship Habit

Paul says in Romans 12 that we are not to conform to the rhythms of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Disciplined worship renews our mind constantly because we are choosing to engage in worship that is pleasing to God. Spending time like this with God shifts my focus from me to Him. Ultimately, that leads to my transformation.

Yes, what I'm talking about here is developing a habit of worship. Not in an "I should do this" sort of way, but in an "I get to do this" way. 

The habit of praying with my wife every night before we go to sleep and reading the bible together has helped shape my life and focus on bringing glory to God.

There are many resources out there for starting (or stopping) habits, so I'm not going to tell you which one you should do. Instead, I encourage you to develop a disciplined practice of worship. It could be bible reading, prayer, engaging in gospel conversations, listening to sermon podcasts, or whatever. Make it a habit and you will develop a healthy relationship with God and the identity of Jesus.

In peace and love,

Tom Snyder