Decide | Develop | Discipline
Have you ever made a decision that you knew God was leading you to make, only to realize a day, a week, or a month later you had not followed through? I have, and sadly, more than once.
Too often a decision alone is not enough!
In a service or during a quiet moment when God has our attention and His Spirit is speaking to us, it is easy to see a need and decide to address it. But as soon as the final “Amen” sounds and we walk out the door, it seems there are multiple distractions that steal the urgency of the decision from our minds. We had great intentions, but our follow-through flopped. Let me add two D’s that need to follow decision.
Develop a plan whereby you follow through on your decision.
Let’s say your decision was to pray more: before that day is over, spend some time developing the plan to eliminate the obstacles of praying and facilitate the opportunities. You achieve what you plan. Your success in growing spiritually is not happenstance; it is the result of purposeful surrender to the Holy Spirit’s leading. You made a great decision – Awesome! Now what is your plan to follow through?
Discipline yourself to follow the plan the Holy Spirit led you to develop.
Growing in your Christian life is simple, but it is not easy. It requires you to discipline your flesh so that you might be surrendered to the Spirit. You must tell yourself “No!” Paul said he had to “die daily.” He kept his body in “subjection.” Keeping the plans to honor your decisions requires discipline. However, the product is growth in conformity to Christ and usefulness in His service.
In the future when you make a good decision, develop a plan to fulfill it, and discipline yourself to follow through. By the way, if you have failed before, God is ready to help you try again.
