Memorise: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway. 1st Corinthians 9:27
Self-discipline
is a personal commitment and decision to voluntarily yield every aspect of
one’s life to the Almighty God. This is ensuring nothing controls or influences
your life outside the power of God. You must make no further provision for
anything else to rule over your life except the power of God. For this specific
reason of desiring to be a vessel unto honour, you deliberately narrow your
choices to only what Jesus will have you do at any given time. When a man is
self-disciplined, he will no longer entangle himself with the affairs of this
life or with those things that add no significant value to his life as a
Christian. Presenting your body as a living sacrifice is one of the ways to
impose discipline on yourself.
“I
beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service” Romans 12:1
The fact
that some people are not determined enough to pay the price of self-discipline
is a major reason why things will not work for them the way they expect. In
life, nothing goes for nothing. Until there is a departure from certain things,
there can never be a discovery of great things. No one will amount to something
great until they are ready to make certain sacrifices, which must come through
self-imposed discipline.
Having been
a boxer myself, I can tell you that you can never become a champion in the
world of boxing if you are not programmed to be self-disciplined. When an
individual is not disciplined, he or she will not be able to go far in life. A
believer will have to be disciplined when it comes to certain issues like
eating, sleeping, talking etc. Some people cannot do without comfort for a
while. There are some that are slowed down in life because there are numerous
weights that they are entangled with. When you are not self-disciplined, it
will lead to your being unfruitful and unproductive in the business of God.
There are people who cannot pray as they should because they cannot allow
anything to deny them of their sleep. Some people will always eat when
they should be fasting just because they cannot deny themselves of food.
“Know ye
not that they which run in a race run all, but one recieveth the prize? So run
that ye may obtain”. 1st Corinthians 9:27
Here, Paul
was portraying the struggles that one must contend with in the Christian walk
if one will have to make full proof of his ministry. Apostle Paul was willing
to make all sacrifices and commitments required in evangelising to the world.
He was obedient to the demands of the gospel because of the assurance that He
who called him was faithful to reward him in due time. As believers, there is
the need to show commitment in self-discipline to the task of our calling as
ministers of the gospel. Those who prepare for competitions with the mind of
receiving perishable rewards still give the competition all the sacrifice
required, this is a big lesson for those of us preparing for eternal rewards.
One must exercise no less commitment or sacrifice. As long as we faithfully run
the Christian race, we can be assured of the gift of eternal glory in Christ
Jesus. No matter the difficulties we encounter, we can be rest assured that the
grace of God can be relied upon.
Prayer
Point: Father, please remove anything that will hinder my greatness from my
life in Jesus’ name.
Bible in one year: Isaiah 14:28-19:15, Psalm 33:12-22
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