Start Small

I am preaching self-control and discipline to myself this year.

The unsyncopated rhythms of the last couple of years has left me in a state of feeling undisciplined. I want to live a life that models worship and that reflects my passion for God.

1 Cor. 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 an 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.

Sometimes these disciplines and goals that we want to accomplish can seem like a HUGE task. Sometimes it feels like there is a canyon between the person we are and the person God wants us to be, and the process of getting there is just going to be too hard/difficult/long.

Newton's law states that "An object in motion will stay in motion unless some other force acts on it." So here's my goal for this year. Just get myself in motion each day. This means that I am taking the bigger goals and disciplines that I have and making them small and achievable - just to start somewhere. I want to get healthier. For me, that starts with going to the gym. I am not even staying at the gym that long because I don't enjoy my workouts. However, I know that doing that small thing gets me in motion. It makes we want to drink more water, eat healthier, come back to the gym again, and repeat the cycle.

The same is so true of our spiritual disciplines. Sometimes we have these big goals in mind, but we need to just start small. Just do something to get us moving in the right direction. If you feel stuck today, I recommend starting small. Don't keep looking at the canyon in front of you. Just take a step. And then tomorrow, take another.