Do you have a significant goal/dream you hope to accomplish in your life? I do. Yet days, weeks, and years have gone by, and I still haven’t taken any meaningful steps toward accomplishing my goal. Part of my problem is that I often get distracted by or caught up in too many other things in my life that push my goal to the back burner. Other times, I suffer from a little voice in my head that says, “That’s just a pipe dream. You’ll never be able to really accomplish that.”

Confession … my spiritual life is often hindered by these two obstacles as well. I tell myself over and over that I’m going to spend more time in God’s Word each day. But many days I get distracted by or caught up in things that seem more important at the time, or, if I’m honest, by something that just seems more appealing. And sometimes Satan whispers in my ear, “You’ll never be able to be the Christian you want to be.”

Self-discipline is hard. It’s even harder when we think we can achieve it on our own. But God promises, “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” (Hebrews 12:11).  

Practicing self-discipline trains us to be more self-disciplined. Best of all, we have an amazing coach: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).