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Discipline and Joy
Although discipline doesn’t bring joy immediately, it is intended to bring joy ultimately. God wants us to be happy. He wants us to enjoy our lives, and I personally don’t think that we ever will
unless we are committed to a life of discipline and self-control.
People who cannot control themselves are not happy people.
They feel bad about themselves, they are pressured by feelings of guilt and failure, and they often take their anger and frustration out on other people. Surely it would be far better to go through the pain of learning discipline than to remain in a
state of permanent slavery and misery to sin and destructive habits.
Jesus came that we might have and enjoy life abundantly and fully (John 10:10). Are you doing that? If not, is it due to a habit you have that needs to be broken? If the answer is yes, then get started. Remember, the experts say it takes twenty- one to thirty days to make or break a habit, so every day you keep going and refuse to give up brings you one day closer to
freedom.
Don’t think about the difficulty of forming new habits, but instead think about the joy and freedom that is soon to come. I
also recommend that you not count how many days you have left to go before the new habit kicks in. It is best rather to think
in terms of how many days you have practiced doing the thing that you want to become part of your habitual behavior. For
example, if disciplining yourself to eat healthy snacks instead of sugary ones is your goal, then think and talk about how far you have come each day that you are successful rather than how hard it is for you to do without sugar. Verbalizing how difficult it is for you twenty times a day will only make it more difficult, but verbalizing your joy in having been successful one day, two days, three days, and so on will make you happy. As I have
said, what we think becomes our reality, so be sure your thoughts line up with your ultimate desires.
