Discipline: The Uphill Climb
Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
But the rod of discipline will drive it far away.
I’ve always thought of this verse, along with others phrased as such, as guidance for parenting. I’ve taken notes for that day in the future along with: to not discipline children is to be a willing party to their deaths (Pr.19:18), starting them in the way they should go helps them to keep on that path (Pr. 22:6), discipline brings good rewards (Pr. 10:4), and true discipline is of love (Pr. 3:11-12, 13:24). What clicked today is that the “child” is me.
I see discipline as two components working together: the correction of bad behavior and the maintenance of habits. First to identify and correct the bad, then choose to maintain the good. Initially, discipline can feel harsh and mean, but it can be applied easier when we take a deep breath and remember it comes from a place of care. It takes effort from someone to correct bad behavior. Discipline in a sense of maintenance will take effort every day. The effort from others and ourselves that goes into discipline is a sign of how much care is involved (not many people put effort into something they don’t care about).
Discipline is difficult no matter what it looks like. It’s an everyday choice and isn’t easy to maintain and motivate. I have hit the point where I am struggling to maintain the many habits I have started. When I slow down, I’m reminded…
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge…
Yes! That’s me! Love both those things!
…but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Pr. 12:1
Oh.
Apparently I have more work to do. Apparently, the work will never end. Apparently, my stubbornness will always get in my way. On the bright side though, I know my God will be there for every step of it. He loves and cares enough to keep correcting me even when I don’t want it. He loves me enough to motivate me to be disciplined. I need to work on my art, my career, my physical health, my mental health, my spiritual health, on my relationships, on gifts, talents, abilities, giving, working, resting, the list goes on and on. There’s so many things to work on and care about in my life and the lives of the people around me! How in the world am I supposed to juggle it all?
I’m not. That’s the whole point. I’m not supposed to be juggling it ‘in the world’ at all.
I am supposed to surrender it all to God and let Him work through me. Trusting in His plan and walking with Him is the only way I won’t live a miserable life. However, He never said it would be easy. He actually makes it very clear that life will be hard. There will always be conflict where God and the world clash, and that conflict is also evident inside each of us (John 15:18-25, Gal. 5:17).
Took this while I was out on a walk last year with my best friend!
John 15:1-8 uses the example of God as the gardener and all of us as the plants he tends. Gardening is a discipline that takes a lot of… discipline. In us, He will cut out the dying, sinful pieces, pruning us so we may be even more fruitful. It will always hurt when something is cut off. Even if it’s dead, that branch was still a piece of us. The hope we have is that there is a purpose to that pain, and the pain does not have the power to crush our spirits. New branches will sprout bearing even more fruit as long as we stay connected to God, healing and growing in him. We will always have access to a deeply rooted peace and joy in him that nothing can touch.
Note that in this example God is doing all the work. We are trusting and not fighting Him. I know, that's not easy either, and we can only do our best. When we inevitably stumble, we ask forgiveness and remember that God’s plan will prevail beyond our mistakes. We aren’t powerful enough to derail Him. His plan will succeed over everything (Pr. 19:21, 20:24, 21:30-31). I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve wondered if I have made a mistake and messed something up. Our weaknesses, cracks, fractures, and imperfections, is where God’s power shines through. Those imperfections are where we can rely on Him, live out our faith, and give him the glory (2 Cor. 12:9).
Recently, discipline has been the overarching message that God has been teaching me. I have been ignoring it. Maybe I’ve been avoiding it for fear of the effort, the potential vulnerability, the potential for failure, for sacrifice, or something I haven’t learned to name. It seems this is the season for me to learn how to be patient and let God work on me every day, in all areas of my life.
I pray that you can do the same. I pray you learn to let go and let God work on your life, even if it hurts and even if it's hard. I pray you hold onto his hope, peace, and joy that will never fade. Don’t feel like you have to start with everything. Start with one area, one step, one decision of discipline and focus on that. Even if it's doing something once a week, or even once a month– it’s still better than never doing it at all. Proverbs 15:24 says that “The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going to the realm of the dead.” Uphill climbs always get harder the longer you climb, but to climb away from the realm of the dead? I think that’s a climb worth making any day.
The best part of all this? You are NOT doing it alone. Even if there aren’t people in your life who will encourage you, there is a whole family of believers who will. Above even that, you have God. He is ALWAYS right by your side. Turn your thoughts to Him and He WILL provide out of love…just not always in the way we expect.
Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing
good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Matthew 28:20
