Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
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Building Spiritual Discipline
There is a lot going on in our culture right now – pandemic and civil unrest, people searching desperately for a way to define themselves and questioning truth. The world often seems upside-down.
In these challenging times, a strong, faith-filled foundation is critical; not only for our personal spiritual growth, but also to shine the light of Christ through the darkness. As Christians, we are equipped with the power of hope, a hope we can share with others if we have spiritual discipline. As we learned in June, being spiritually healthy is the most important of the Five Fitnesses. You can become more fit in your faith by digging into God’s Word and praying, but another way to do so is by adopting a spiritual discipline. This month, we’re challenging you to strengthen your faith by practicing a spiritual discipline!
Here are three simple steps for getting started:
Step 1: Choose a discipline
Your first step is to pick out a discipline you want to practice. Try to choose one that is new to you in order to build up your spiritual strength! Here are a few disciplines to choose from: gratitude, humility, compassion, self-examination, meditating on Scripture, attentiveness, simplicity, discernment, and chastity.
There are many more spiritual disciplines, so take time to do research on the different types. Pray and ask God for guidance in making your choice – is there an area of your spiritual life that God wants you to be stronger in? Once you’ve made your choice, write it down and keep it somewhere you will see it regularly as a friendly reminder.
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Step 2: Make time by fasting
The next step is to use another spiritual discipline to help you work on the one you’ve chosen. Fasting is a great opportunity to prepare your soul to live out your faith, and it doesn’t have to be just giving up food. In fact, for this challenge, choose something in your life that you could fast from this month.
Let’s use social media as an example. Instead of spending time on social media, you could work on your spiritual discipline. Use fasting to honor God and make time to build up your spiritual strength!
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Step 3: Practice your discipline
Once you have chosen your discipline and have made time for it, you can start practicing! Whatever discipline you choose, be intentional to think about how you have (or haven’t) applied that spiritual discipline during the day.
For example, if you’re focusing on gratitude, take time to dwell on the things you are thankful for and then express that to God. If you’re working on compassion, examine your actions to see how much you have used that discipline. Keep track of your progress so you can see how much you grow.
What’s Next?
Now that you have started working on a spiritual discipline, you’ll be well-equipped to exercise that discipline by living out your faith in the coming months. A great way to do that is by participating in Bring Your Bible to School Day, which will take place this October.
Bring Your Bible to School Day is an annual, student-led event that empowers Christian students of all ages to share God’s hope by taking one simple step — bringing their Bible to school and talking about it with friends.
