They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5
I was driving home early on a Thursday morning, it was about 8:50 am. I drove past four young boys walking to school. As I watched them walking down, it occurred to me that these kids seemed to have no sense of urgency, they took their time, enjoying every bit of their journey. My African and judgemental mind kicked in immediately, and there I was thinking, this isn’t how you walk to school. You should walk fast, there should be some sense of urgency, you are going to school.
Then my Teacher, the Holy Spirit said, why should they walk fast? If they had calculated the time it takes to walk slowly to school, and disciplined themselves to get out of bed early, why shouldn’t they enjoy a nice slow walk to school? Then He said – Discipline produces a life of ease, indiscipline produces hardship.
As I thought about this, the first thing that hit me was my mindset. Somehow, in some way, my mind has been programmed to associate the exertion of lots of external effort with seriousness, hard work, and productivity. If I had seen a young lady walking so fast and in a hurry to get to school, my subconscious mind would instinctively see her as a good student, in a hurry to go learn, and most likely a top student. I could not see the possibility that this lady might be exerting so much effort, trying to run and walk so fast because of her lack of discipline to wake up early. I would not have thought that these young boys I saw earlier, walking slowly and enjoying their journey to school, could do that because they were disciplined.
Imagine the young lady getting frustrated at how difficult her life is and then decides the solution is to pray and ask God for a car. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a car, but that is not the solution to her problem. Because the difficulty in her life is caused by lack of discipline, the presence of a car doesn’t solve that problem. Having a car would most likely make her wake up much later and still rush down to school, the only difference would now be that she would be driving in a hurry instead of walking in a hurry. External possessions do not fix internal issues. Getting a car would not solve the problem of indiscipline. The many external miracles the Israelities saw in Egypt did not change their internal conditioning. In order to live a life of ease we must focus on changing our internal preset conditioning by living a disciplined life.
If discipline produces a life of ease, which I believe most of us desire, it’s important to know what discipline means. Discipline can be defined as training to obey a code of conduct or instruction, it is exercising self-control. If discipline trains you to obey a code of conduct, then you must have that code of conduct, a set of instructions, or a pattern clearly defined and subject yourself to it before you can say you are disciplined.
This means physical work that is not exerted according to a defined pattern is work without discipline. A disciplined life has a preset design or pattern, and the physical effort exerted is done intentionally to build according to the set pattern.
You can be hard-working and not disciplined. You can exert lots of energy and effort in different directions and not see tangible results or results commensurate with the effort. When hard work is not subject to a well-thought-out plan, pattern, or instruction it will still produce hardship.
Discipline will produce a life of ease. Indiscipline, even though accompanied by hard work, will always produce hardship.
cultivatetheword.com
In our bible verse for today, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, and God warned Moses to make sure he builds everything according to the pattern. This means every aspect of the tabernacle, outer court, the holy place, holies of holy, lamb stands etc. Everything had to be done according to a pattern. It took a lot of physical work to build , but all the hard work was done according to a set pattern – that is what discipline is. If we are God’s temple today, shouldn’t our lives be built according to a pattern?
The question is: What pattern are you building according to? Are you working hard and exerting your efforts according to a clearly defined plan or are you working hard hoping things will fall in place? Do you have a code of conduct that governs the different aspects of your life? Do you have a code of conduct for your finances? Do you have one for your time or can anyone or anything interrupt your schedule? Do you have a code of conduct for your mind? What resources are you committed to exposing your mind to and how often? What governs your health? What pattern governs your shopping, vacation, and leisure activities?
I’m Nigerian, I love being Nigerian. But when I look at my country I see a nation of hardworking intelligent people with no discipline. We have not identified the instructions, plans, or patterns we need to live by to create the kind of nation we desire. So we suffer from severe hardship because even with the few rules we have, everyone is too big to be subject to them. Then we come to Western countries and meet people who are not as hard-working but people who are disciplined. They take time to create plans and instructions and subject themselves to them. Even the prime minister stops when the traffic light turns red. Life is easier because there’s discipline. Cities expand, new roads are constructed without demolishing houses, and every effort seen on the outside is exerted in line with a design not just randomly.
Much like my country Nigeria, I’ve seen areas in my life where I seem to exert much energy and work so hard but these efforts are not exerted according to a specific design, pattern, or instruction. So I can say in these areas, I’ve experienced hardship. Not seen results that equal the work put in. But i thank God for light, now I have come to learn that it is a disciplined life, not just hard-working work life that produces much result and ease. I’m learning that life should be disciplined, not difficult.
As I think of the four boys walking to school, I realize that with discipline we can enjoy every season of life. A young man can discipline himself to get up early and enjoy his walk to the office, while he trusts God for a financial increase to buy a car. He doesn’t have to endure hardship in this season because discipline can create a measure of ease even without a car.
Like the lady praying for a car, thinking that would solve the challenge of being late to school or having to always walk down in a hurry, I’m learning that the solution to many challenges I have are more internal than external. Now I understand why it is said that prayer changes you. Because it is in prayer that God opens the eyes of this young lady to see that her issue is indiscipline. When He helps her correct that issue, then He can give her a car. Remember it is safer to walk fast to school and be late than drive fast. The impacts of walking fast might be that you trip, you show up in school sweating and not looking so good. But the impacts of driving too fast because you’re in a hurry might mean an accident, might mean someone loses a body part, so God in His mercy would first correct internally before He blesses externally. So before I get mad at God for not giving me what I’m asking for externally, I’m learning to seek for what He’s trying to correct internally.
Are you living a disciplined life? Do you enjoy the grace of ease that comes with it? Are there areas where you need to just stop working so hard and be disciplined instead? It is my prayer that God will grant us the wisdom to create the right disciplines, build our lives according to pattern and enjoy ease, for wisdom is better than strength.
Love Always
Obebi
