Cultivating Spiritual Disciplines
by Aria (xoxaria)
Now that school has started for a lot of people, online or real life, life has become a lot more crazy (interpret "crazy" how you will).
It can be easy to drown ourselves in the chaos of the school year, juggling between our school day, homework, extracurricular activities, amongst other things, such as hanging out with friends, church, and even drama. It all can get overwhelming, but it can also make us forget or push aside what's important: God.
The bottom line is, when we don't read our Bible, study our Bible, pray, etc, with the excuse that we don't have time, we're lying to ourselves.
It all comes down to where our priorities are at. Matthew 6:21 says that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Where our heart is is where our priorities are.
Our treasure can be our goal of going to college. Our treasure can be success. Friendships. Hobbies. Anything. Whatever we value more than God, though, also becomes something more than a treasure: it becomes our idol.
Now, don't get me wrong. School is important. After reading this, please don't tell your mom that you can't do school anymore-
Cultivating spiritual disciplines throughout your school year requires effort, discipline, and balance. God created us for work. Work is good. We need to work to grow. Our relationship with Christ involves effort (James 2:14-26).
Is it going to be difficult to cultivate these spiritual disciplines during the school year? Definitely. But in the end, it's worth it because we become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ, which is our whole goal--and it pleases the Lord!
Philippians 1:21 says that "to live is Christ and to die is gain" (He's our reason to live; our gain in death is that we'll be with Him for eternity). We live for the Lord, because He lived for us. He's the One who gave us our time, and we need to be good stewards of the days, weeks, months, and years He's given us. We want to be ready when He returns. No, we don't want to be ready--we NEED to be ready. Our eternity depends on it. 2 Peter 1:10 says to "be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election." We're supposed to make sure we have a firm foundation in Christ so that we don't succumb to sin.
Something that will help you cultivate spiritual disciplines is having an accountability partner. This is someone who will keep you accountable and remind and encourage you to grow in your faith. I'd strongly encourage you to find someone in real life that can help you and you help them as well.
You can also find in the external link a free, printable Spiritual Disciplines Chart that will help you remember, week by week, to do things like read your Bible, pray, etc. While spiritual disciplines shouldn't be something we need to check off, you need to start somewhere to form a habit (and if you're like me, organization is really helpful!). So don't ever think that you can't make things like checklists.
In reality, forcing yourself to read God's Word actually helps you start to desire Him on your own (without the checklist). It will become such a part of your life that you need it to live. It's food for your soul. Don't deprive your soul and spiritual growth simply because you don't want to force yourself to do anything. We're humans, we need discipline to do the right thing. (also, James 4:17 says, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.")
So, in summary, we're lying to ourselves when we say we don't have time, because we do have time (it's a matter of whether or not we prioritize growing in our faith). It's going to require effort, but in the end, it's worth it because we become more like our Savior, which pleases God. Don't deprive your soul of God's Word. See it as a necessity, something you need to live (such as food, water, or sleep). It's that important. Even during the school year, when it can become more difficult.
If you have any questions, need advice, or simply want to talk with someone, don't hesitate to message us. We're here for you and would love to pray for you!
God bless!
-Aria
