Whenever anyone hears of my new eating plan, the first two questions they always ask are, “how did you do it?” And, “Is this something you can sustain?”
In other words, if I were to start on this healthy eating plan, what would I have to sacrifice? And, if I make that sacrifice for a season, can I eventually go back to eating whatever I want without gaining the weight back?
Both are very valid questions. Questions that I've asked my self about every healthy eating plan I've ever tried. Sacrificing for a season is not fun but, it is doable. It introduces us to the benefits of discipline.
Sacrificing until we no longer desire what has been given up, well that just takes discipline to a whole new level. A level where some will take a brief vacation but very few lay down permanent roots.
Recently, I had a fascinating discussion about discipline with three pastors. The question was thrown out, “Is discipline really sustainable?” One chuckled as he stuffed his second yeast roll in his mouth and said, “Obviously not for me.”
The second leaned back in his chair and expressed his doubt as well.
The third piped in with an absolute yes and gave Biblical support for his emphatic answer.
I never got to give my answer that day. Our schedule demanded our conversation come to an abrupt close and we were off to other tasks at hand.
But, had I been able to fit my answer in, it would have been this: no and yes.
No, I do not believe in our own strength that we can sustain a level of discipline that requires real sacrifice for a long period of time.
However, my answer is yes when you factor in a crucial spiritual truth.
It is good for God’s people to be put in a place of longing- wanting- and feeling the gap of slight desperation. The gap between our frail discipline capabilities and God’s available strength for us is bridged with nothing but a simple choice on our part.
Moment by moment we have the choice to live in our own strength and risk failure or to reach across the gap and grab hold of God’s unwavering strength. And the beautiful thing is, the more dependent we become on God’s strength, the less we are enamored with other choices.
A very wise man once challenged me with the reality of God’s holiness. “God tells us to be holy. So, be holy. He wouldn't have said it, if it wasn't possible.”
Food for thought I’d say. Food for thought, indeed.
So, how does one tap into God’s strength? Certainly prayer. Definitely reading the Bible. But there’s another part to it.
Getting to a place where our lack of strength disgusts us. It’s found at the bottom of our excuses and rationalizations. It’s found when our efforts fail time and time again. It’s found in the humility of admission, “I need God.”
One good choice later, we taste the empowerment of possibility and we start reaching forward from there.
One choice can lead to two- can lead to three- can lead to a thousand- can lead to the sweet place of utter dependence on God. A place worthy of more than brief vacations every now and then. A place our souls were made to call home.
A place of where discipline makes disciples who truly understand what it means to delight themselves in the Lord. For the Lord has been allowed to rewrite the desires of their heart. It’s a place not wrought with sacrifice but rather overflowing with blessings so pure and rich, they’d never trade it.
Not for anything.
Especially not for those things they once thought they could never live without.
So, is sustained discipline possible? You tell me. The answer lies within the very next choice you make.
In other words, if I were to start on this healthy eating plan, what would I have to sacrifice? And, if I make that sacrifice for a season, can I eventually go back to eating whatever I want without gaining the weight back?
Both are very valid questions. Questions that I've asked my self about every healthy eating plan I've ever tried. Sacrificing for a season is not fun but, it is doable. It introduces us to the benefits of discipline.
Sacrificing until we no longer desire what has been given up, well that just takes discipline to a whole new level. A level where some will take a brief vacation but very few lay down permanent roots.
Recently, I had a fascinating discussion about discipline with three pastors. The question was thrown out, “Is discipline really sustainable?” One chuckled as he stuffed his second yeast roll in his mouth and said, “Obviously not for me.”
The second leaned back in his chair and expressed his doubt as well.
The third piped in with an absolute yes and gave Biblical support for his emphatic answer.
I never got to give my answer that day. Our schedule demanded our conversation come to an abrupt close and we were off to other tasks at hand.
But, had I been able to fit my answer in, it would have been this: no and yes.
No, I do not believe in our own strength that we can sustain a level of discipline that requires real sacrifice for a long period of time.
However, my answer is yes when you factor in a crucial spiritual truth.
It is good for God’s people to be put in a place of longing- wanting- and feeling the gap of slight desperation. The gap between our frail discipline capabilities and God’s available strength for us is bridged with nothing but a simple choice on our part.
Moment by moment we have the choice to live in our own strength and risk failure or to reach across the gap and grab hold of God’s unwavering strength. And the beautiful thing is, the more dependent we become on God’s strength, the less we are enamored with other choices.
A very wise man once challenged me with the reality of God’s holiness. “God tells us to be holy. So, be holy. He wouldn't have said it, if it wasn't possible.”
Food for thought I’d say. Food for thought, indeed.
So, how does one tap into God’s strength? Certainly prayer. Definitely reading the Bible. But there’s another part to it.
Getting to a place where our lack of strength disgusts us. It’s found at the bottom of our excuses and rationalizations. It’s found when our efforts fail time and time again. It’s found in the humility of admission, “I need God.”
One good choice later, we taste the empowerment of possibility and we start reaching forward from there.
One choice can lead to two- can lead to three- can lead to a thousand- can lead to the sweet place of utter dependence on God. A place worthy of more than brief vacations every now and then. A place our souls were made to call home.
A place of where discipline makes disciples who truly understand what it means to delight themselves in the Lord. For the Lord has been allowed to rewrite the desires of their heart. It’s a place not wrought with sacrifice but rather overflowing with blessings so pure and rich, they’d never trade it.
Not for anything.
Especially not for those things they once thought they could never live without.
So, is sustained discipline possible? You tell me. The answer lies within the very next choice you make.
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