7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
[1 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV]
Every January is the same. With a new year comes renewed desire for change.
The commitment is made: To work out more, To eat healthier, To stop smoking or drinking, To get out of debt, To find a significant other, To start and finish that house project, To get that promotion, To learn to play an instrument, To connect more with family, To get outside more, To read more
The money is spent: Gym membership, QuickBooks, dating app, hiking boots, music lessons, vinyl siding, etc.
And you know the joke. By February the membership is canceled, the hiking boots are in the closet along with the new guitar, behind the pile of new books, while you are sitting alone on the couch eating donuts and watching reality tv.
As they say, “It’s funny because it’s true.” But it is also sad. And a little depressing.
Because discipline is difficult.
But without it, we waste away. Without personal disciplines we get fatter, lazier, and dumber. And we go nowhere.
I can look back on the most unproductive, unsatisfying and unhappy seasons of my life and they were all that way because I let go of personal discipline. Those are the seasons when I went up several pant sizes, had a hard time focusing, and was fret with anxiety. Because I was not intentional about my life.
And as difficult as personal disciplines are (like exercise, diet and finances), creating and practicing spiritual disciplines are even more difficult. When you throw in prayer, reading your Bible, and all that stuff, you can feel like giving up long before February hits.
But if we take these spiritual disciplines and relate them to the personal disciplines above (and the myriad of others) we can easily see their positive impacts on our lives, and the negative effects of a life lacking them.
Reflecting on 1 Timothy 4 (above), we see that Paul through the power of the Holy Spirit stresses the importance of spiritual discipline, or as he calls it, ‘training in godliness.’ And as the training of the physical body is good, training in godliness has further and longer lasting impact on our lives.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES FOR SPIRITUAL FITNESS
Similar to the seasons where I make time to work out and I am intentional about my diet, the seasons in which I make time to read my Bible and be intentional about spiritual things are definitely the times when I feel spiritually “fit”.
I’m not saying that I feel more like a preacher or that I’m walking around performing miracles. I just mean that I feel ‘in shape’. I remember talking to a friend one time about his ‘getting into shape’. I asked him (probably sarcastically) if he was doing this to run a triathlon or look good on the beach. He laughed and said, “No, I just want to walk up and down the stairs in my house without getting winded and needing a nap.”
I think his statement echoes the desire of our hearts when it comes to our spiritual lives. We really just want to be able to live day to day without unraveling, being overcome by temptation, arguing with our spouses or kids, and feeling spiritually ‘winded’.
And that is the ‘everyday’ fitness impact of spiritual disciplines.
- Your mind is focused on the things of God.
- You have endurance to withstand temptations.
- Everyday struggles don’t cripple you with anxiety.
- Your relationships are filled with joy and patience.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
(1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV)
OVERCOMING THE OVERWHELMING
But like anything, it can become overwhelming to even know where and how to begin. The thought of adding anything else to your already exhausting list of goals can feel like throwing snowballs at a bonfire. If it is one more obligation to fulfill or program to attend, then we will find ourselves doing absolutely nothing but with the best of intentions.
For example: It took everything you had to get up a little earlier in the morning in order to add working out to your morning routine before getting the kids up and ready for school while you also have to get yourself ready for work. You struggled and failed many times…but now you have routine. It’s not perfect, but it works for you. But then you realize you want to also get up and start your day with reading your Bible and praying. You know that it is better for you to read your Bible than it is to work out…but you REALLY need to work out. You’ve tried both in the evenings…and neither work. The best time for exercise and spiritual devotions is in the morning. But that would mean waking up EVEN EARLIER each day, which shortens your amount of sleep. The thought overwhelms your brain, so you stick with what is already established: your physical workout. And you half-heartedly commit to read your Bible later in the day when you have the time.
Physical exercise is important. But trying to fit all of the things that you want to do into each 24 hour day can lead Christians to filter out all of the things they believe they can survive without. And most of the time that which is filtered out are spiritual disciplines.
But if training in righteousness is more valuable, then we have to somehow overcome this challenge. To do so takes intentionality and a shift in thinking, AND it is modeled for us in the Bible!
4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ESV)
CREATING SPIRITUAL RHYTHMS
God gave the people of Israel a model for being intentional about spiritual things in your life. Most people overlook this model because they don’t read their Bibles, or they think it is only about raising kids.
But there is so much packed into these verses about how to plug spiritual disciplines into your everyday life. God is not oblivious or indifferent to the struggle we have. When he commands us to live holy lives that reflect His kingdom, He didn’t just leave us to figure it out on our own. Jesus said that he came to give us the abundant life, and I believe that he meant for us to succeed in experiencing it each day.
This section in Deuteronomy 6 is known by the Jewish people as the Shema – taken from the Hebrew found in the first line “Hear, O Israel…” The Shema not only gives us a command (the greatest command) to “love the LORD your God with all…” but it also lays out a model of spiritual rhythms, or practices, in which to be intentional about how to practically discipline yourself to do so.
The idea of spiritual rhythms is that they flow smoothly as a regular, repeated pattern of intentional movement throughout every day. They are disciplines that built into the natural patterns of your life so that they are as much a part of your life as any other rhythm (like eating, sleeping, bathing, etc.). After time, they become muscle memory and so natural that they are no longer a struggle to enact but become a life-giving joy.
WHAT ARE SOME RHYTHMS?
Think about the rhythms laid out in the Shema
- You shall talk of them when you sit in your house
- You shall talk of them when you walk by the way
- You shall talk of them when you lie down
- You shall talk of them when you rise.
- Bind them as a sign on your hand
- Be as frontlets between your eyes
- Write them on your homes
- Write them on your gates
There are certain rhythms that each of us have…we will sit in our homes, and we will go out. We will lie down and rise up each day. We will use our hands and eyes. We will go in our homes and into the city (gate).
But how can we build in spiritual disciplines into these natural rhythms so that they become spiritual rhythms. The goal is not to add another thing to your already busy schedule, but to redeem every moment and opportunity in your day for the gospel.
- Talk about them when you sit…walk
How do we practice spiritual rhythms? Incorporate them into our conversations whether at home or outside your home. Do not make the kingdom of God off-limits in your conversations at home with your family. Too often we think spiritual conversations are only for church, but the more you speak of the things of God, the more your mind will be on the things of God.
2. Talk of them when you lie down…rise.
Before you get out of bed in the morning, remind yourself of what is true: The Lord our God is ONE, and you will love Him with all. It is difficult to have a fearful and anxious day when you begin it by reminding yourself (and your family) the truth of who God is. And instead of ending the day by thinking on all the things that are bad…or not thinking at all (like zoning out in front of the tv or your phone), end your day by thinking on all the ways God has blessed you and thank him for the gift of another day.
3. Bind them and Write them.
Let everything that you set your hands to be for the glory of God. Let everything your eyes focus on be to honor the LORD and draw you nearer to him. Let them be as a banner on your homes. Take them into the city.
And as we engage in these natural rhythms, we incorporate the things of God into them. We talk about them and we bind them as signs.
What are some of the rhythms in your day to day?
This post is the first of a series in Spiritual Rhythms. But until then, the question that falls on my heart, and could for you as well, is this:
If Jesus has come to give us the life abundant, how can we turn these spiritual disciples into spiritual rhythms for the glory of God?
- Studying the Bible
- Prayer
- Worship (personal/corporate)
- Memorizing Scripture
- Reading books from other believers
- Confession, Repentance and Forgiveness
- Thankfulness and Remembrance
- Sabbath rest
- Fasting
- Fellowship
- Self examination
- Consecration
- Generosity
- Serving
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