I was so ready to quit last Monday, but I came across an article on the internet that changed my mind. It was dealing with self-discipline. I thought hard about this, and I must say I felt that familiar stab of guilt to my heart.
I began to consider that even if I don't lose weight, I still need to learn self-discipline. What is the Christian life about? Daily dying to self. I need to learn to do hard things, just so as to condition myself to be disciplined in other areas. Hey, I'm a pretty disciplined person when it comes to devotional time, but my eating habits are attrocious. This shouldn't be.
I looked up some verses dealing with self-discipline. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says,
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Just as I would discipline myself to be godly, I recognize I need to physically discipline my body. I need to push through when I just don't feel like it. Somehow the physical carries over into the spiritual. I think bringing my body into submission is all part of developing godliness.
So as I'm out there running and want to give up because it seems too hard, I will remember that this is a picture of what it is to deny my flesh of all its desires and to live in the Spirit.
And I think that's reason enough to run...
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