A Practical Guide to Daily Discipline: The Carryover

There are many steps we can take to develop the habits we desire but often struggle to maintain. The great thing about working on discipline in one area of your life is that it will inevitably overflow into various areas of your life because, once you hold yourself to a certain standard in one area of your life, it is natural to begin holding yourself to higher standards in other areas of your life. So we wrap up our series, we are going to focus on three disciplines that will help carryover discipline into every area of our lives.

Getting Sleep

I briefly mentioned this in part one of this series but sleep is vitally important. Without sleep, we can easily lose focus and have trouble thinking clearly. Without sleep, we lack the patience to handle a situation properly and respond poorly to those we love. Without sleep, motivation goes out the window and we are far less likely to stick to our routines and disciplines, falling back into our old habits. Without sleep, we are much more susceptible to the enemy’s tactics as well. We fall for his lies and manipulation because we just do not have the energy to fight it.

Getting more sleep often comes down to just being more disciplined. It is usually a choice. A choice to not watch one more show on Netflix. A choice not to check Twitter or Instagram one more time. A choice not to start working on something that will keep you up a few more hours. You will be amazed at how much more productive you will be in less time when you are actually rested. 

Controlling Your Thoughts

According to 2 Corinthians 10:5, as believers in Jesus, we have the ability to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” We can only take our thoughts captive to obey Christ if we have a real knowledge of God and what His Word says. Controlling your thoughts starts with reading the Bible and growing in your relationship with Jesus. (Find more info about that here in part two of our discipline series.) The more you study and understand the character of Jesus, the more easily you’ll be able to recognize the lies the enemy is feeding you and stop them in their tracks. You can train your mind to stop the negative thoughts about yourself or a situation by beginning believe what the Bible says instead. Though this takes some time and doesn’t always come easy, it is incredibly freeing to know you can take control of your mind. Once your know the words and heart of the Father, you can keep your thoughts in check and ask yourself if they are from the Lord. If the answer is no, then do not let them linger. Stop them immediately when they surface and ask the Holy Spirit for help in doing so. You will be both blessed and amazed at how they begin to dissipate!

Believing Truth

Growing up in church, phrases like, “you are loved,” “you are chosen,” and “you are enough” weren’t unfamiliar to me. However, as I’ve grown older, I have realized that just because I know those things in my head does not mean I believe them in my heart. It’s so easy to believe the lies the enemy tells us about ourselves without ever combating them with truth. I have a tendency to believe the lie that I am somehow forgotten by God, but I have learned to combat this in two ways. First, I have to own up to how I’m feeling. I need to come to God in prayer and tell Him I feel forgotten, and then I have to ask Him what He says about me. I have to search scripture to find the truth. Isaiah 49:15-16 says, “I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Some other favorites are Psalm 139:13-14, Zephaniah 3:17, and Ephesians 2:4-5.) 

So I’ve honestly come to God with my feelings, but this second step is critical. Now, I must choose to believe what He says over what I feel. This isn’t an easy task, but it has proven effective for me in combatting the lies of the enemy. If there is something you are struggling to believe about who God says you are, identify it, give it to God, and ask Him to show you the truth. Search the scripture for verses to help you identify His truth, and know that the Holy Spirit will help you combat the lies of Satan as you claim those scriptures as truth. 

Truth often empowers us, gives us hope, and takes us deeper with Christ. Truth gives us courage to take new steps in obedience to Christ and overcome things we’ve struggled with in ways we never could have while believing the lies of the enemy. Believing truth will help you learn to control your thoughts. The more you believe truth, the easier it is to identify lies before your thoughts can run wild with them. 

Ultimately, it is choice to believe the words in scripture. We have to choose to believe them when we do not feel like they are true. Trust me, when we choose to believe what God says over how we feel, our lives are transformed; we gain new strength in Him and find our roots anchoring themselves deeper and deeper in Christ. 

We can’t forget that discipline is a calling of the Christ follower (Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Peter 1:5-9, 1 Corinthians 9:26-27).  It is important to remember that our own disciplined lifestyle can help reflect our Savior to the world. We want others to desire what we have inside of us, but if we are not diligent to develop discipline, we will be hard pressed to live as those who are set apart for God’s glory. 

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Only through Jesus can we develop the healthy disciplines needed to enjoy the abundant life He has for us. Scripture says, that what you sow, you will reap (Galatians 6:7-9). That means we can work diligently to become more disciplined (like starting with these steps from this series) and God will produce a harvest because of our work in His timing.  So as you work to become more disciplined and self-controlled, remember to seek out the Lord and His plan for you in it all. I pray as you do others would be drawn to the wonderful light you are reflecting. 

Don't forget to read the rest of the discipline series by clicking here! And make sure to leave us a comment down below or on Facebook to let us know what you think!