It Makes You Righteous

 Hebrews 12:11

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

I have written already about discipline and how God loves whom He corrects (For When He Loves He Convicts ) You can check that out before reading this. 

However, with this post, I will be talking about the fruit of Self-Discipline in our lives. 

It may seem to be bitter because bearing such fruit calls for a lot of things we personally will never want to do. 

Practicing discipline is a very harsh and difficult task. It's not only exercising self-control, but it also makes you vulnerable to obedience.

Most Christians' top issues today are a result of refusing to discipline themselves. 

We don't want to sacrifice and hold on to things that will produce uncomfortableness or pain. 

We don't want to be tested to learn why we need it to get to the goal. We don't want to be left out of the crowd or to be that person that has to be an example. 

In the scripture above, I want us to focus on the last part of it. The part that says "Later on". 

Yes, bearing the fruit of discipline and self-control requires a habitat that is disagreeable with what you want, but when harvest arrives and it's time to eat the fruit, it is going to be so rewarding for you.

The planting of the seed may be done with suffering. You may have had to fight yourself to read the Word. Or, you may have had to force yourself to get that prayer time in. 

You may have to stay on the sideline and keep in the waiting room when everyone seemed to be excelling. 

You may have had to swallow the words you wanted to say and say the Word you have to say. 

You may have wanted to sit down during praise and worship because you felt no inspiration, but you stood and do so anyway. 

You may have wanted to eat that food that looks so good, but you stuck to your fasting. 

You may have had to bear all of this while toiling the earth to plant this seed, but I promised you that in the end the tree that will sprout and the fruit it will bring will be worth it. 

When this fruit is ripened it will give you the peace and favor that you need. You will harvest a fruit that will bring you blessings and miracles.

Breakthroughs you can not even imagine.

You just have to work that soil. 

With planting this seed, you must stay consistent in watering it. Consistent in making sure it is provided the right amount of sunlight. 

We must be consistent or at least close when practicing discipline. 

We can not stop in the midst of it and expect the same outcome. 

Yes, it will get hard, but we can not give up. 

We must continue to water and nurture and then in the end we will reap pure joy. 

~TheRay