I've been fortunate enough to find a graduate program that places a tremendous amount of emphasis on the importance of facilitating whole-person education. The benefit is that in learning how to facilitate, I also am wholly educated. Right now my cohort is taking a Spiritual Formation class and it has made an impact on me, to say the least. If nothing else, this class has pointed me back to the spiritual disciplines, and I've begun to find a new, refreshing power in them.
I hope the title was a bit intriguing to you, and maybe even found you disagreeing with it. However, what I've been finding, both through study and personal experience, points to that statement being true. I'm beginning to see that the spiritual disciplines are foundational elements to my faith, and without them, my foundation becomes less like concrete and more like sand.
A simple example is reading the Bible every day. I've heard people say that you shouldn't read your Bible unless your heart is in the right place, ready to receive the Word. Or I've heard, "Well, I just didn't feel like reading my Bible today." In my opinion, those are classic examples of how your heart can be deceived.
I'm reading a book for class right now called Desiring the Kingdom and I can sum it up for you in one phrase: "Habits are formative*." If that is the case, then shouldn't I make it a habit to read my Bible? Shouldn't I read it even if my heart is in a terrible place, if I'm ticked off at God, or if I just feel lazy? I have not been perfect, but since Jan. 1 I have tried harder than ever to make this an everyday practice. This class is only confirming what I've learned and experienced in the past year; if I open up my Bible, even out of habit, his Word will not return void. I notice that my SPIRIT is different on days that I start it all off by opening up my Bible. It's the same way with the disciplines of fasting, solitude, prayer, submission, service, confession, and celebration**.
My generation, and that includes a good portion of the people reading this blog, have strayed from Discipline, especially of the spiritual variety. I know everything I've written is not groundbreaking, but I want to encourage you all (if you're not doing so already) to pick one of the previously listed spiritual disciplines and try to make it a habit (either daily or weekly) and see what God teaches you through being diligent and disciplined. No, it's not a bad thing to daily open your Bible or pray, or fast a day a week out of habit. That's like saying it's a bad thing to put your seat belt on or to not swear because they are habits.
Make some of these disciplines habits and watch your spirit grow and change to become more like Christ!
*I'm not kidding. You really don't have to read the book because I just gave it away. It's not a huge message, but it's an important one to understand.
**If it sounds like I took a bunch of these from Foster's Celebration of Discipline, it's because I did.
