Soul Care - Discipline
by Mary Elsbury
What comes to mind when you hear the term “discipline?” For some, it means punishment, rules, obedience. For others, consistency, compliance, or rigidity. The word itself comes from Latin meaning student or follower, hence discipline is to learn, train, study, and apply a system of standards.
Many years ago, I read a book “The Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster and heard him speak. Foster explained that there were inward disciplines (meditation, prayer, fasting, study), outward disciplines (simplicity, solitude, submission, service), and corporate disciplines (confession, worship, guidance, celebration). They are a means to receive His grace and transform us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A key takeaway is that discipline is not obedience to someone else’s standards but rather a decision and choice. More discipline, more choice, more control. Better options. Higher standards. Improved skill. More flexibility. OR Less discipline, less choice, less control. Fewer options. Lower standards. Inadequate skill. Less flexibility.
My son-in-law was in the Air Force for many years. He was told when to get up, what to wear, when to eat, where to go. His autonomy was taken away and a life of discipline was imposed. He said it took him a few months to embrace the change, but when he did, tasks came into focus, and he actually had more control.
As a new Christian, I had to develop the habit of prayer and study, celebration, and confession. It was hard at first, but after 50 years, my day does not feel right if I skip prayer, study, and quiet time. Richard Foster states in Celebration of Discipline, “Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of the spiritual life. Of all the Spiritual Disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father. Meditation introduces us to the inner life, fasting is an accompanying means, study transforms our minds, but it is the Discipline of prayer that brings us into the deepest and highest work of the human spirit.”
The purpose of spiritual disciplines is the total transformation of the person. They aim at replacing old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits. My prayer is that as you establish new habits that foster discipline, you will remember that joy is the key.
BOOKS on Spiritual Disciplines
Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard
Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
