Are You Ready?

Leadership

"Everybody wants to be strong, but nobody wants to be sore." That's a phrase I have heard my pastor use often. While he came up with it while watching a bunch of high school football kids in the gym spend a lot more time hanging out and talking than hitting the weights, it applies to any area of life where we strive to generate results.

Growth is a process, and God won't allow it until you are prepared to handle it. Too much weight on a frame not strong enough to carry it will cause the body to crumble.

Growth without the discipline to handle it will lead to self-destruction.

"When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil." (Genesis 2:5)

Before God allowed growth on the earth, He needed people who were capable of taking care of it. He held back the rains until humans had developed the capability of tending the garden. If you find yourself frustrated about your present results, it may be that you haven't developed the disciplines to bring them about or take care of them when they emerge.

Discipline too often is interpreted with a negative connotation, some sort of corrective action we are taught as children not to desire. Rather, it is one of the most powerful traits a person can have- to bring your behaviors under restraint so that your life doesn't just spew its power in every direction. Think about what happens to a hose when you turn the water on full blast but don't hold the end of it. It just flails in every direction, soaking anything in its reach. That is life without discipline. Discipline is one of the most important elements of growth and a successful life.

Notice I said "one" of the elements, not the key. We all want to know the key to success. The truth is, it's not a key, but a combination. Discipline is one element, so is hard work, divine provision, continuous learning, perseverance, time, and meekness. Meekness is transferring your power under the restraint of Jesus and allowing Him the authority to focus you in the direction you were designed for.

The Bible says that without restraint, the people perish. That's discipline. Take a look at the results you are looking to produce and ask yourself if you have created the disciplines to bring them about and the restraint to handle them. God won't send the rain until you are ready to take care of the garden.