God has many blessings that He wants to give us, just like free candy right?  Nope, you have to be disciplined to get them.  What???  So, get off your horse, stop your car, shut down the office work, put all the emails and texts on hold…… we need to talk!

I was staying with a group of friends at The Inn at the Lake in Lake City Colorado, a wonderful mountain retreat with great views and a spirit filled couple who run the place. They were sharing a personal time of devotion with us.  While they were talking, it sounded as if someone was shooting a gun in the next room.  Pow!,  then a few seconds later Pow!  then again and again!  David and Rosie explained that it was the squirrel cutting pine cones from the tree above our lodge.  When he cuts them off the tree, he lets them fall, hitting the metal roof and POW! He then collects all his fruits and stores them for the cold winters. (and in Lake City, Colorado it gets CCCCCold.)

As soon as our devotion time was over, I had to go outside and see this furry fellow.  He was scurrying back and forth right in front of me no more than 3 feet at times.  He would gather a pine cone then run the gauntlet of chairs, fire pit, and people to where he was storing his food.  Back and forth he would go.  I watched him carry 8 different pine cones within a few minutes.  That’s 8 different trips he made.  He was working his tail off, well, actually he’s got a really fluffy tail.  You know what I’m trying to say.  He was “Gettin’ at it”.  This squirrel has got discipline I gotta tell you.

hay harvest in the Wet Mountain Valley

At the same time as the squirrel was getting his harvest done,  the ranchers in Wet Mountain Valley were in full swing of their harvest.  The farmers and ranchers were using their hay equipment to the fullest capacity available.  They were workin’ their tails off.  Well, you know what I mean.  They were “Gettin’ at it”.  Tractors of all kinds, John Deeres, Massey Fergusons, lots of tractors so rusty you couldn’t tell what brand were grinding away.  The Amish had their horses strapped up and working.  A beautiful site to behold.  People of all ages are hard at it, gathering hay while the sun shines.  They have got discipline I gotta tell you.

The squirrel, the rancher, you and me have got something in common.  An abundance of blessings and spiritual food from God.  He’s wanting us to have it.  It’s very true that God gives us blessings we don’t deserve.  But friend, there is an even more abundance of blessings waiting on those who are disciplined.

Disciplined.  That’s another word for punishment right?  Well, does a dancer with a disciplined body consider it punishment to achieve the ability to move gracefully.  Does a marathon runner punish his body in order to run long distances?  My son Jordan trains athletes using strength and conditioning exercises that produce speed and power from these human bodies.  Do his clients think he is punishing them?  Most will tell me that he is just working their tails off…….. you know what I’m saying.

Here’s the bottom line.  How can you harvest these blessings that God has for you?  By being disciplined by your Lord and Saviour.  How do you do that?  By giving Him your time.

To grow spiritually involves giving of your time, (something very personal to you).  Taking time out of your busy schedule, your appointments, your jobs, your time to do what you want to do, taking this time to use for your harvest with God seems like punishment to the world.  Giving God your time during a quiet time, to talk to Him in prayer, to help another person in need, to do and be what He wants you to be.  These are all examples of being disciplined by God.  Does it seem like a punishment to have to do this?

OK time out!  Look around and make sure nobody is looking at you right now.  Let me tell you something.  Just me and you.  We all get that feeling that it’s a punishment.  I mean, why do this?  Why work so hard?  Let’s just coast through life.  Let’s just take a nap instead of this discipline stuff. Why bother?

He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.  Proverbs 10:5

Those even more abundant life blessings are there.  That’s why we have “to bother”.  We have to be disciplined and stay disciplined.  You want those blessings from God.  Nothing selfish about that.  God wants to give you these and more blessings.

¹¹ 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 12:11NIV

God is my strength and conditioning coach.  I submit to being disciplined by Him.  By that I mean that I give Him my time.  He gets my good times, my bad times, my quiet times, my joyful times.  He is also there with me in my troubled times, my sorrow filled times.  He and I are a team.  I give Him my time and He in turn gives me His time. (That’s a blessing in and of itself).  I will give Him my time here on Earth.  He will give me His time in Eternity.

To the world it may look like punishment to live this Christian way of life.  It involves discipline.  At times you may feel like you are workin’ your tail off.  You just keep on “Gettin’ at it”.  Keep gathering the “spiritual food” in the fields before you.  Discipline…. it may not seem pleasant at the time, but painful.  But in the long haul, later on, it produces a harvest of blessings.  I’m in it for the long haul….for later on ….. for eternity!!

See Ya!!!