Have you ever started a spiritual discipline and it didn't go quite as planned?  
 
This winter, I was in a spiritual formation class that included practicing spiritual disciplines. We had to intentionally give up something for twenty-one days and complete two 2-hour solitude retreats. I chose to give up social media for those twenty-one days and then ended up doing both of my solitude retreats at a cabin in one day. I set myself up on the Lazy Boy, turned the fireplace on, opened my Bible, and... crashed! I napped hard for 1.5 hours and woke up not knowing what time or day it was. Is napping a spiritual discipline? Because if so, I crushed it.

Much like disciplining ourselves to not eat ice cream every night, or getting ourselves to the gym regularly, spiritual disciplines are also challenging. You see, spiritual disciplines by definition are practices that can transform our inner lives. These aren't things that are a spiritual checklist that we must do, but they are a helpful set of practices that we get to do, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to grow in our walks. Maybe you've heard of them before but if not, some scholars say that they can be broken up into different categories: inward, outward, and communal.  

Inward: Scripture memorization/reading, prayer, fasting 

Outward: Silence, solitude, service 

Communal: Worship, celebration, fellowship 

What makes spiritual disciplines just slightly more difficult to practice than the discipline of getting to the gym or not eating ice cream regularly is the word "spiritual." The reason is because this deals with our souls and we know that our souls are the things that good and evil are at battle for every day, even though we know that Christ has already won the war. Satan doesn't want us to have transformed lives that are disciplined, growing, and glorifying God. He wants us to do the minimum and be the minimum. But we are called to be and do so much more than that.  

Paul wrote in the New Testament, "Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:7-8, NLT). And what's more, Jesus also practiced spiritual disciplines regularly and encouraged His disciples to as well (Luke 4:16; Mark 6:31).

We often long for our lives and our souls to be recharged and strong, but we struggle to do the things that will help that happen. Questions, concerns, and distractions bombard us. We think, "Where do I start? What if I have to face a sin I don't want to face? How could I possibly face the grief that I haven't wanted to deal with?" And though these are all real, raw, and appropriate questions, they have a lot of 'I' statements. Spiritual disciplines do have to do with us, but they are made possible, sustained, and completed through Jesus.  

We want to live transformed, gospel-centered, servant-hearted lives that glorify God above all else. To do that though, we have to train, live in some discomfort, and try new things, despite difficulty. We don't just wake up and run a marathon; we practice and start with things like finding better sleep rhythms, eating healthier, and drinking water... then we walk/run, adding distance along the way, we face setbacks and get back up, until one day we are ready to run that marathon. If you want a helpful guide along the way, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun is a great resource!

Start somewhere, pray that the Lord would give your strength and wisdom, and give yourself grace along the way. Let's live transformed lives.  

*Editor's note: For the month of June, we are focusing on the spiritual disciplines! Usually we think of these as part of our school year routine, but let's find flexible ways to connect with God more deeply this summer, even if we need to be extra creative about it!