Discipline, Exercise, and Wisdom

Job 28:28
And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'

Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Exercise....bleh! Getting healthy....double bleh! Being married to a reformed food junkie/couch potato.....triple bleh!

Yes, in my life, I have been convinced, convicted, whatever you want to call it, that it is time for me to pursue a life of health. And that means discipline...gag, cough, gag, bleh! Discipline means change, and work, and something new. And I really don't like change very much. God is so funny and has such a great sense of humor in having me married to a man of many changes!

Discipline can also be applied to our spiritual walk as well. I have an easier time with this one though I still like it to be 'free formed'. And just like exercise, there are times when you have to push through the awkward discomfort to reach a better goal, a higher goal.

Last night in our small group, our cooler than cool head chica, led us on a journey through various disciplines based on two main books "So you want to be like Christ" by Chuck Swindoll and "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster, while also using her own convictions. She talked about cultivating.... Prayer, Worship, Evangelism, Serving, Silence, Solitude, Confession, Study, Journal, and Celebration.

To cultivate:
to prepare and work on; to promote or improve the growth of (a plant, crop, etc.) by labor and attention. to develop or improve by education or training; train; refine ;foster. to devote oneself to (an art, science, etc.).


Cultivating each one of these to attain true intimacy with Christ (see past blog on intimacy). I realized very quickly that my journey into wisdom was closely tied to the spiritual disciplines. I love it when God starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together!

I kind of made light of the verse regarding the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom in my previous post. I now realize how true and deep that verse actually is. "Fear of the Lord" = reverential trust, deep affection and wanting to honor by walking in the way of the Creator, holy admiration, the understanding that He is God...and we are most definitely NOT.

And that truly is the beginning. The chief proponent of our Christian walk and journey into wisdom. Wisdom is a spiritual gift and also a result of a live lived completely under the influence of the Almighty God and all his commandments.

We must know Him. Pursue Him. Exercise spiritual disciplines in our lives so that the marathon we are running is consistent, and pleasing to our Heavenly Coach. Throwing off all the sin that so easily entangles us (Hebrews 12:1-3), shaking off any obstacles in our path, running straight towards the open arms of God- the only one we should actively try to please.

Jennifer, our head chica, challenged us to write a goal for our lives. I.E. "To know God better" and write it in the front of our Bible- living each day with that goal in mind- making that mission statement, goal, or calling forefront in our Christian walk. We are to be in constant training...never laying a hold of it until we are in Heaven.

Praise be to God whose Love endures forever.

Job 28: 12-28
"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? "Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. "The deep says, `It is not in me'; And the sea says, `It is not with me.' "Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. "It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire. "Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. "Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. "The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
"Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? "Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky. "Abaddon and Death say, `With our ears we have heard a report of it.' "God understands its way, And He knows its place. "For He looks to the ends of the earth And sees everything under the heavens. "When He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure, When He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt, Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. "And to man He said, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'