Spiritual Disciplines: A Game Changer
Spiritual Disciplines Help You Keep Moving Forward
Spiritual disciplines are not a quick fix. They won't instantly make you feel better, and they take work. Sometimes you'll enjoy them, but there will be times when you don't. That word discipline isn't an accident!
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No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. - Hebrews 12:11
"Right living." You know, that thing you keep trying to do and totally failing at? Spiritual disciplines produce a harvest of right living.
Spiritual disciplines also teach you.
"Discipline" comes from the same word as "disciple," a student. Spiritual disciplines teach you about yourself and about God. And finally, spiritual disciplines create a space for God to work in our lives. As Richard Foster says, we need change from the inside out. Spiritual disciplines "open the door" so God can do the inside job; they "allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us." (The Celebration of Discipline p7).
There are many different spiritual disciplines, and I'm not going to discuss all of them in this post. If you want more, Richard Foster literally wrote the book on spiritual disciplines. It's called The Celebration of Discipline, and there is also a journal workbook to go with it called Celebrating the Disciplines.
Don't get overwhelmed. As you'll hear me say a lot, we want small weights, lots of reps. As we discuss these 5 disciplines below, think about choosing just one that you want to try for the first time or that you want to grow in.