Spiritual Discipline

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)

Long distance running is a difficult sport that requires a great deal of self-discipline. Most beginners start with good intentions but quit before they get very far. They have self-defeating conversations with themselves as they get tired: Why am I doing this? My body is not meant to do this! Everything hurts. I might injure myself. These days, there are online training programs that help you to gradually build up your miles over a few months. However, these programs don’t give much instruction on how to develop the mental stamina and fortitude that is also required for running.

Spiritual disciplines like contemplation, fasting, prayer, study, and service allow us to train our mind and body as we journey closer to God. Most of us are weighed down by self-indulgence. We don’t think we can alter our deep-rooted habits. We aren’t even sure if we want to change! We can either listen to the self-limiting, internal voices of fear and timidity, or we can train and develop self-discipline. In time, God’s power and love work within us, enabling us to accomplish infinitely more than we could imagine.