Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
These next two newsletters will be a standalone, mini-series written in a much more reflective, free-flowing style. They’re going to sound and read a little differently than my usual writings, but I wanted to share these reflections through Speaking Truth because they’re focused on two areas of self-discipline I’ve been growing in so far this year. As I share, I’ll also be highlighting the important biblical truths behind the practical applications. I really want to take Colossians 3:23-24 to heart and remember that I should be working for the Lord in whatever I do, which means all parts of life.
You see, earlier this year I wrote a newsletter series about habits, and since then I’ve continued to try to grow in the area of building healthy habits for myself. Two areas I specifically wanted to build better habits in were 1) how I use my free time and 2) my physical health (specifically exercise and eating).
I started this year by focusing on being intentional with my free time, and it helped me a lot that my husband wanted to work on the same thing. We want to break the habit of always and only watching TV or a movie in our “free” time. We both wanted to grow in honoring God and taking care of our responsibilities during the unscheduled parts of our weeks. We chose to not fill our schedule to the brim with social activities, and with the extra time that gave us, we both worked on different writing practices or reading edifying books/material. We also made intentional time to discuss our finances, schedules, and overall plans for life (both short and long term) more frequently. Talk about adulting!
I recently memorized parts of Psalm 90, and verse 12 has always stood out to me:
Teach us to number our days,that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
My husband and I really wanted to start treating our days as limited, knowing that we’re only given so many, and only God knows how many we’ll get. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul urges us “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Since one day we must give an account to God our Savior for every day and every deed we’ve ever done, we truly wanted to grow in living a life worthy of the gospel of grace we’ve experienced.
Please don’t hear me and think that we’ve cut out all our social commitments and entertainment, because we definitely haven’t! Watching movies is still one of our favorite things to do for fun, and we get together with friends on a weekly basis. However, creating margin in our schedule by not having every day filled with a weekly commitment has been huge in helping us grow in intentionality. We’ve been so thankful for the Holy Spirit moving in us and working in our hearts to give us the ability to change and grow in this area of life.
The other discipline I wanted to share about, my physical health, started in January with a desire to lose weight for a wedding I was going to be in in March. I went three months without eating desserts or sweets of any kind. I also tried to work out two to three times a week with a friend at the gym. By the time the wedding came around, I felt a lot better—not just about how the bridesmaid dress fit, but also just healthier. I was also proud of myself for realizing I could say no to sweets and desserts—I discovered the power of willpower, per se. After the wedding, though, I lost track of my eating again because honestly I had no concrete or motivating goal I was working towards. Romans 13:14 was very convicting to me as I reflected on how much I loved getting to enjoy whatever food I desired:
…clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
At the beginning of this summer, I decided to build on both of the disciplines I had been trying to create. Ultimately, I wanted to be better at “clothing” myself with Christ rather than gratifying my flesh. I praise the Lord for His Spirit working in my heart to reveal areas of growth! It started first with a desire to lose some extra weight that I had been battling for several years in order to improve my overall health. And hear me clearly when I say “extra weight”—I’m a 5’ 1” female, and I wanted to get closer to health experts’ recommendation for someone built like myself. I started with a goal to lose a certain number of pounds, but ultimately I wanted to build and tone muscle simultaneously. If I had to pick either build muscle or lose pounds, I wanted to build muscle, and my doctor agreed with me. I have struggled with fatigue and increasing cholesterol for several years now (among other health issues), and as I looked at all the health problems that both my parents are experiencing, I wanted to do what I could physically to improve my overall health and well-being now.
So starting in June, I decided to use portion control and keep a rigorous, three times a week workout routine to lose some weight. Trust me, it was not easy. I did not like thinking about portions at all. I didn’t like seeing how my normal food choices were so unhealthy. I also didn’t like being sore from working out consistently, or getting up early to make it to the gym before work. And I especially didn’t like how few results I saw the first month or so. You see, in the past I have tried only watching what I eat or only exercising, but neither of those cut it for me. I always grew discouraged because I didn’t see quick results that I so desperately wanted. This time, I knew I needed to focus on both the amount and quality of food I was eating as well as the intensity and frequency of my exercise routine.
Sticking to this strict routine for eating and exercise really helped me in seeking to be purposeful in my free time, too. For me, trying to become disciplined to achieve physical health goals correlates with becoming more disciplined in my spiritual life as well. For some reason, that’s just how my brain (and body) works. This summer as I worked at achieving those physical goals, I was motivated to keep finding beneficial ways to fill my free time, like more writing, reading, and even work around the home. I thought of Paul’s reflection on his own spiritual self-discipline:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.1 Corinthians 6:24-27
While there may not have been any “concrete” spiritual goals for the entire summer, each week I had my small group keep me accountable to reading or writing X amount of time and to be reviewing my previously memorized verses list. I challenged myself to get back into Scripture memory, and praise the Lord that time has been well spent. I’ve seen my desires change from wanting to just relax or be entertained in my free time to wanting to grow in my knowledge of God’s Word and in taking care of the responsibilities He’s given me.
Praise God for the work He’s been doing in me. Praise God that His is faithful to us, even when I slip up or fall behind. I hope these stories of personal growth encourage you and remind you that we can change by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. We should all set goals for ourselves in different of areas of our lives, in order to produce the fruit of the Spirit and to give a good account of our time to the Lord one day. In my next newsletter, I want to share more specifics about what I’ve been learning and about goal-setting in general. I hope these reflections challenge you to seek to know God more and trust in the process of self-discipline.
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