Living a shallow life is equivalent to living according to our own thoughts, feelings, and will. The deeper life is enjoyed by a person who has learned the art of discipline. They learn to discipline the inner life and the outer life as well.
As I disciplined myself to spend time with God daily in solitude, reading, and prayer (conversation with God), I received strength from God to be able to discipline my outer life (mind, will, and emotions). Applying discipline has set me free to enjoy a life where I am not controlled by an unexpected and uninvited emotional downturn due to difficult circumstances that came without an invitation. Discipline sets me free from raging against an unexpected hormone that decided to go in the wrong direction without any warning.
I no longer have to bow to negative thoughts, ideas, and imaginings that don't agree with God's Word. But, I would not have known God's Word had I not disciplined myself to learn it. So we can plainly see that the discipline of the inner spiritual life is the doorway to being able to discipline the other areas of our life.
You need no special training to be deeply spiritual except that you are hungry for more of God in your life. There must be a longing in your soul for a genuine experience with God.
To become deeply spiritual does not mean that you must wear all black, wipe the smile from your face, and maintain a look of intensity at all times. Legalistic, rigid people are miserable, but when discipline is practiced under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, it is one of the most beautiful tools God has given to man. And the result of that discipline is grace, flexibility, peace, and joy.
(Eat the Cookie--Buy the Shoes by Joyce Meyer)
1 comment:
"Applying discipline has set me free..."
Oooh... my husband and I were just talking about that this very morning. He brought it up, and didn't know I had written a recent post on the very thing he was talking about...how our new puppy Joey would have much more freedom as soon as she learned the basic disciplines... and how it was the same for us.
I love it when God does that. I might miss a message... but when it comes at me 3 times... eek, I'd better sit up and take notice. :-D
It makes me feel very thankful He cares enough to keep after me, gently guiding in the right direction, in spite of myself!
Thank you for sharing this. :-)
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