After reading and considering Whitney'sSpiritual Discipline for the
Christian Life,the focus of the reading is to work on being more Christlike
and trusting him fully continually. I agree that it is essential and
appreciated the book because it provides an excellent reminder in a world
of undisciplined; as Christians, especially as ministry leaders, we cannot
afford to be amongst the stagnant. "The Spiritual Disciplines are those
practices found in Scripture that promote spiritual growth among
believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are the habits of devotion and
experiential Christianity that have been practiced by the people of God
since biblical times."[1]
The first Spiritual Discipline that I need to work on is Silence and
Solitude. I struggle to find time for silence and solitude, mainly because of
my crazy schedule. Still, I have started working on it by turning off my
radio while I am driving or taking a walk by myself to allow for thought,
processing, and hearing more of God's voice. "Solitude is the Spiritual
Discipline of voluntarily and temporarily withdrawing to privacy for
spiritual purposes. The period of solitude may last only a few minutes or
for days. As with silence, solitude may be sought in order to participate
without interruption in other Spiritual Disciplines, or just to be alone with
God and think."[2]
The second Spiritual Discipline that I need to consider focusing on
is fasting. Although I have attempted fasting before for health purposes, a
juice cleanse, or pre-natal tests, I do not do well without food each time I
have felt on edge and sick. I have yet to try fasting from food for spiritual
purposes, but I shall consider it if God calls me to it. I understand the
purpose of it; I just have negative thoughts about it. I have done social
media fasting, removing the social media apps, and stay off for a month. I
have also abstained from dating for the majority of this last year as I
wanted to focus on school and my ministry.
The third Spiritual Discipline that needs some concentration is journaling; I
have started and stopped journaling a few times over the last year.
However, it is on my to-do list. Once I have completed this degree, I finish
on August 21st! A friend of mine said that the benefit of journaling for her
is that when she is in a low point she can look back and look at the
highlight reel of all the times that the Lord has blessed her. I love this idea
and look forward to having the time to journal soon.
word count 465
[1]Donald S Whitney (2020). (p. 4). Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian
Life, Revised and Updated Edition. Retrieved from
https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com
[2]Donald S Whitney (2020). (p. 224).
