When Discipline Turns into the Norm

At the end of chapter 3 in the book, "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God," by Lysa Terkeurst, there is a place to journal about this quote:

"Soon, saying yes to God will no longer be a discipline of your heart but rather the delight of your life."

That's a great hope!

This morning during my run, I was reflecting on physical discipline. I have never been an athletic type, and only started running just a few years ago. Recently, I had a slight set-back from a strained achilles tendon. This put my running on hold for a few months, and when I started back up, I started experiencing several different issues with my hip and ankle. I decided to enlist the help of a personal trainer to get me past all of these problems.

My trainer gave me some strength training exercises, some stretches, some foam-rolling exercises to do and told me to run slower in order to keep my heart rate down. I have been doing these things pretty dillegently and have started to notice some improvements.

During this morning's run, which was a slower run to keep the heart-rate down, my running partner said to me, "This is a very comfortable run. It feels good. When we are pushing ourselves to go to fast, it can cause a lot of discomfort." I reflected on this and said, "I can't wait until after doing all of this work to improve, that a faster run will feel this good too."

I have the hope that when I am disciplined and follow the program that my trainer set out for me, at some point in the future my runs will get faster and will feel good at that speed too. I think this is very similar to thinking about the discipline of saying Yes to God.

Right now, I need reminders to stay in God's word. I struggle with some of the changes I am working at allowing God to make in me. There is some pain and "foam rolling" (prayer and help from God) that is needed to help in the process. Yet, there is hope! I have hope that one day, it won't feel like such a discipline, but it will be a joy and will be natural. To run the race for God naturally without all of the extra need for discipline. I look forward to this!

Hebrews 12:1-2

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Race of Faith

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.