Through His Word, our Lord tells us not only
how to act, but what to think and how to feel. I’m thankful that God cares
about my heart, my inner life. At the
same time, like many Christians, I often find commands related to my heart and
mind frustratingly difficult to obey.
Consider these commands:
Do not be anxious about anything (Philippians
4:6).
Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
(Proverbs 6:25).
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger
(Ephesians 4:31).
These are commands which Christians want to
obey, but we often find it maddeningly difficult to control our own thoughts,
desires, and feelings. We feel like Jesus has commanded us to win a marathon
(if you are actually able to win a 26 mile race, then choose something else
which feels impossible for you to do as an example). I think that a command to
win a marathon might provide a good analogy.
First, for many of us, we would need a
miraculous change in our bodies to make running, much less winning, a marathon even
possible. Our old bodies just can’t do something like that. Spiritually, God does that miracle when we
are saved. He gives us a new heart (Exe
36:26). In our marathon analogy, this would be like making our bodies young and
healthy again. But most young people, while they have bodies which have the
potential to run a marathon, could not go out and complete one today.
Now comes training. A long time ago, in a body I no longer have,
I ran several marathons. I ran for 26
miles at a pace which I could not run one mile, or even a half mile, today. When I first started running I also could not
run a single mile at the pace I eventually kept up for a marathon. It didn’t
come naturally or easily. Here’s what it takes:
a lot of focused, dedicated training. You live to run. Every day you run,
and you keep doing that for several years.
You run longer and farther and faster.
You keep pushing. There’s a lot
of sacrifice. You give up a lot of other
things. You’re disciplined.
But don’t imagine it’s all misery. Sure, there are sore muscles and sometimes
you’re exhausted. But as you go you
enjoy running more and more. There’s a “runner’s
high”. It’s hard and exhilarating at the
same time. And rewarding. But while
physical running has a little benefit, there is much greater benefit from
training for godliness:
1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some
value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the
present life and the life to come.
9 This
is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
10 That
is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who
is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
So, how do we “train” our thoughts, feelings, and
desires to be more godly? One way is
through what has often been called “the spiritual disciplines”. This verse reveals the three most basic
spiritual disciplines:
NIV Acts 2:42
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer.
We see three things to be devoted to:
1. The
apostles’ teaching, which today we have in the Bible. Be devoted to reading, meditating on, and
thinking about the Bible.
2.
Fellowship. This means worshipping, serving, and learning together with
other Christians. Practically speaking,
this means being active in church and Bible studies and ministry groups.
3.
Prayer. Pray a lot!
The more we do these things the stronger we
will be in the Lord. We will gain inner
strength. This side of Heaven we will
not be perfect, but over time our hearts will become more and more Christ-like,
and we will be better able to obey those commands about how to feel, what to
think, and what to want.
Don’t be discouraged. God is on your side as you seek to follow
Him. He WANTS you to succeed, and His
mighty power will be helping you in your training and in your life
battles. And when you stumble or
backslide, remember His grace, and with His help get up and get going again.
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .
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