Distractions vs. Discipline {be devoted}

Image by: Hannah Durston

by: Emma Schramm

Let me share a confession with you, my sisters.
I struggle with reading my Bible and allotting part of my day for one-on-one time with the Lord. Now, it’s not the actual reading of the Bible or finding the time that I struggle with, but I struggle in being disciplined enough to do it every day.

Sure it’s easy enough for me to grab a Bible and read a chapter sometime during the day, but so often I let the everyday grind get in the way of really communing with God. I don’t just want to read a chapter, say a quick prayer and move on, giving God maybe ten minutes of my day tops. I want to set aside a special time every day for personal worship, prayer, and Bible study. But that takes discipline.

A few years ago, every night before going to bed, I would spend some time in prayer, read a passage of Scripture and a daily devotional out a book from a friend. And I was disciplined. This was my routine for nearly six months and I LOVED it. I absolutely loved spending a special portion of the day set aside as time with God. I moved other things away from myself so that I could have this cherished time with God.

But then I allowed distractions to get in the way. School, church, work, technology, hobbies became first, and without realizing it, I placed God and my special time with Him, in the backseat. By becoming distracted, my discipline slipped and distractions ruled.

I’ve struggled on and off since then, trying to gain back the discipline I had, so that I can faithfully spend daily time with my Heavenly Father.

Something I have realized is, that the distractions have to go.

The word disciplined is defined this way:
Showing a controlled form of behavior or way of working.

Wow! That hit me hard right in the heart.

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Proverbs 25:28

My absence of self-discipline shows my lack of self-control. By allowing myself to be run over by distractions, I am showing that I do not have the self-control to govern and guide my day, so that it will be productive and time can be set aside for worship. I need to gain control of myself before I can gain self-discipline.

“But he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.” Titus 1:8

So, I’m setting out to gain control of my actions, my days, and my productivity. Pushing distractions out of the way and going about each day with purpose, one step at a time.

As it says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we are imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

I know that for my personality, I thrive on structure. So, I’m making up a schedule for the weekdays. Having structure and a schedule will help me drive out distractions, be purposeful about everything I do, and teach me to be disciplined in the everyday things.

You want to take a guess at what I’ve scheduled before anything else?
That’s right! Time with my Savior, before anything else.
So, who wants to join me in learning how to be self-controlled and disciplined in our actions, so that we put The Lord first and are able to better serve Him?

Now, I know that structure and schedules don’t work for everyone, but part of gaining self-control and discipline is figuring out how our individual personalities work, and using that to our advantage! When we find the tools that help us become disciplined and learn how use them properly, we will have much better control over our actions, words, and stop wasting time on distractions. Instead we will showing self-discipline and freeing ourselves to serve The Lord without distractions controlling us.

Let’s run the race together and lift each other up as we strive whole-heartedly to be self-controlled, disciplined followers of Jesus Christ!

IMAGES by: Gabriela Salomon