Spiritual Disciplines

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (Mark 1:35–39) 

Stress is an inevitable part of life. When we find ourselves in stressful situations, God wants us to come to the place where we learn to handle stress in a healthy way. 

Of all the ways we can deal with stress, both good and bad, I believe the best way to handle stress is to practice the right disciplines. For when you practice the right disciplines, people will want what you have to give, and you will be ready to give of yourself.

There are several different spiritual disciplines that we all should be intentional about practicing, things like prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, Scripture memorization, journaling, and more. It can be tempting to try to perfect every single discipline at once, but I would encourage you to just start with one or two and begin incorporating those disciplines into your daily routine so that they become a habit. From there, you can start to add more disciplines once you become more consistent.

And please hear me, spiritual disciplines are not practiced to solely check them off of a list and say you did them. These are important aspects of our walk with Christ, as they create space for us to commune with our Heavenly Father, to hear from Him, and to ultimately grow closer to Him.

Jesus modeled for us perfectly what it looked like to practice spiritual disciplines during His time on earth. He took time away from everyone and everything else to spend time with the Father. He eliminated all distractions, taking his focus off of things that could drain Him and instead focused on what could fill Him up, and that was time with God. And if Jesus, of all people, could practice this discipline, then we can do the same.

Think about it. Jesus was a very busy man. People were constantly pulling Him in several different directions, all day, every day. His attention was being drawn all over the place, but still He was very intentional with making time to pay attention to His Father every single day. 

What about you? I realize we all have a lot going on right now. And I realize that our lives seem to be getting busier by the day. Your attention and your focus are being pulled in all kinds of directions. But are you taking time to practice spiritual disciplines? Are you prioritizing spending time with your Heavenly Father? If not, I would encourage you to start right now. Don’t go another day without carving out time to talk to, worship, and listen to the Lord. He doesn’t want you to stay stressed. But He does want to help you through this uncertain and difficult time.