When we make a decision and act, it builds a muscle. When we make it several times, we start to create a habit. After awhile, our decisions aren’t even conscious any more - they come naturally. Those habits become well-worn grooves on our path, helping to guide which way we go.
Athletes develop grooves, being able to react physically in a split second. So do pilots and first responders – a deep groove is established through training to elicit a certain immediate response in an emergency.
I’ve noticed that I’m out of shape. My ruts are changing and not for the better. I have gotten out of the habit of saying no, of denying myself. When I see a potato chip (or donut!!), I eat it. I quit a workout when it gets tough or I might settle on the couch after work. I’ve gotten away from doing the hard thing. That groove of discipline I’d established has grown shallower instead of deeper.
It’s time to say no again. There are lots of reasons I should re-establish a habit of self-discipline – I’ll make better eating decisions, get more done, and probably feel better. But it also creates a picture – an illustration of endurance and training spiritually. Being willing to endure hardship physically builds a muscle to do the same spiritually.
As I take stock, the physical deconditioning I’ve experienced makes me concerned it has rolled down into my spiritual life as well. Is my prayer muscle strong? Do I serve when its not my preference or I have something I’d rather do? Is my reflex to say no to sin? And yes to God? What habits have become easy and which have gotten harder?
A well-established groove of discipline is important for my spiritual life. I want to be in a rut – a good one. It will keep me aligned on His path and less likely to veer off. Whether I exercise self-denial and delayed gratification or if I just keep going when it’s hard, that muscle can be used in every area of my life. As it says in Hebrews:
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12:11
Here’s to the goal of that peaceful fruit and more.
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