Luke 9:23 (KJV): “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
1 Corinthians 15:31 (KJV): “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”
Yesterday, we began Crucify It 3.0 with the words, “Pick It Up Again.” We established that daily surrender does not mean starting over every morning. It means continuing what God has already begun in us. Today we go a little deeper because there will be days when you know exactly what obedience requires, but you simply do not feel like doing it.
Think about these questions before you blurt out an answer. What happens when you know you should forgive, but you are still hurt? What happens when you know you need to wait, but you are tired of waiting? What happens when you know you should guard your mouth, but someone has said the one thing that makes you want to respond? What happens when you know God is asking you to trust Him, but fear feels stronger than faith? This is where your discipline becomes necessary.
Discipline does not mean denying what you feel or pretending something does not hurt. It means learning that your feelings can be acknowledged without being given final authority. There will be days when your emotions agree with obedience and days when they do not. If you only follow God when you feel like following Him, then your feelings are still determining how far you are willing to go. So, do you really know Jesus, or do you just know how to do church? Yesterday you picked up the cross and today you are learning how to keep walking with it.
You must die daily! First Corinthians 15 is Paul’s great defense of the resurrection. Some among the Corinthians were questioning the resurrection of the dead, and Paul explains that the resurrection is essential to the gospel. He reminds them that Christ died, was buried, rose again, and was seen by witnesses. He then makes the point that if there is no resurrection, Christian preaching and faith are empty. Within that discussion, Paul speaks about the dangers he faced because of the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15:30–31, he asks, “And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?” and then says, “I die daily.” In its immediate context, Paul is speaking about his repeated exposure to danger and the possibility of physical death because of his commitment to Christ. You should honor that context.
At the same time, Paul’s willingness to remain faithful despite repeated cost gives us a strong picture of consistency, while Luke 9:23 gives you the direct command concerning daily self-denial. Jesus says to deny yourself, take up the cross daily, and follow Him. Together, these Scriptures remind us that faithful living cannot be built only on convenience. Paul gives us another helpful picture in 1 Corinthians 9:25–27. He compares disciplined Christian living to an athlete training with purpose. In verse 27 he says, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.” An athlete does not train only when motivated. Training requires repetition, restraint, consistency, and focus.
The same is true spiritually. Prayer cannot depend entirely on your mood. Forgiveness cannot depend entirely on your emotion. Trust cannot depend entirely on whether your circumstances are going well. Obedience has to become deeper than how you feel in the moment. So, what happens when your feelings and faith disagree? Because yes your feelings are real, but they are not always reliable leaders. You can love God and still feel discouraged. You can trust Him and still have moments of fear. You can forgive someone and still feel hurt when you remember what happened. You can know God called you and still have moments when you wonder whether you have the strength to continue. The presence of a feeling does not automatically determine the condition of your faith. What matters is what you do with that feeling once you recognize it.
Psalm 42:5 (KJV) says, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God.” The psalmist does not pretend he is not troubled. He acknowledges his condition and then reminds himself where his hope belongs. Your discipline looks exactly like that. You may have to say, “Yes, I am hurt, but my hurt will not determine everything I do today. Yes, I am frustrated, but frustration will not control my mouth. Yes, I am disappointed, but disappointment will not cause me to abandon what God told me. Yes, I am afraid, but fear does not get to make this decision.” Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Walking is continued movement. You should just take another step and then another. Every step gives you another opportunity to follow the Holy Ho HHoSpirit instead of allowing the flesh to determine your response.
Your discipline is built in your ordinary decisions. Much of spiritual discipline is developed in ordinary moments. It is built when you pause before responding to a message that upset you. It is built when you choose not to repeat gossip, even though you know the entire story. It is built when you apologize without adding an excuse designed to make yourself look less responsible. It is built when you pray instead of immediately panicking, when you wait instead of forcing a door, and when you refuse to rehearse an offense simply because your mind has given you another opportunity to revisit it.
Luke 16:10 (KJV) says, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” Faithfulness is often formed in what appears small. The way you handle a thought matters. The way you respond when irritated matters. The way you behave when nobody is watching matters. Hebrews 12:11 says that discipline does not always feel pleasant in the moment, but afterward it can produce “the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” There are things God develops in you that are not built through comfort alone. So do not assume that difficulty means surrendering is not working, because sometimes it is the difficulty that is revealing exactly where discipline is being formed in you.
If there was ever a thing that you needed to do, it is this, stop negotiating with what God has already made clear! There are times when you already know what God’s Word requires of you, but as soon as obedience becomes uncomfortable, you begin trying negotiating with it. You know exactly what you should be doing, but you start listing reasons why your situation should be the exception. You know that you should be watching your words, (go read Matthew 12:36 about the words that you speak) but you convince yourself that the other person deserves everything that you are about to say. You know you should wait, but because waiting is uncomfortable, you start looking for ways to make something happen on your own. James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Eventually, what you know has become what you practice.
Jesus said in John 8:31, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” That word continue belongs in Crucify It 3.0. It is one thing to begin. It is another thing to continue when the excitement of beginning is gone. Some of you are strong starters. You start praying, start setting boundaries, start forgiving, start changing habits, and start doing what God has been telling you to do. But discipleship is not measured only by how passionately you begin; there must also be a willingness to continue. Galatians 6:9 reminds us not to become weary in well doing. Paul acknowledges something very human: you can become tired while doing the right thing. Weariness does not automatically mean you are on the wrong path. Sometimes you are simply tired, and that is when you need God’s strength, wisdom, and grace so that temporary weariness does not make permanent decisions for you.
Grace and discipline belong together because discipline does not mean perfection. There will be days when you get it wrong. You may speak too quickly, let fear influence a decision, entertain an offense longer than you should, or recognize that impatience has taken over. But when the Holy Spirit reveals it, the answer is not to hide from God, the answer is to return to Him. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” Grace gives you room to repent and continue growing. Grace is not permission to remain unchanged, but it keeps failure from becoming the place where you stop. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (this is one of my favorite scriptures) Spiritual discipline is not about fixing yourself without God, it is about cooperating with the work He is already doing within you. So, sometimes the most disciplined thing you can do is simply stop, pray, and ask, “Holy Spirit, help me respond in a way that honors God.”
Today’s Yes, Requires Today’s Discipline! I know yesterday may have been a strong day. You may have prayed, studied, controlled your tongue, trusted God, and handled situations with wisdom. Thank God for yesterday. But today has its own choices. Matthew 6:34 reminds us not to become consumed with tomorrow. You do not have to carry tomorrow’s cross today. You need grace for the day that is actually in front of you. So, if you do not feel like forgiving today, ask God for the grace to move toward forgiveness today. If you do not feel like waiting, ask Him for patience today. If your emotions are strong, ask the Holy Spirit to govern your response today. If you are tired, ask God for wisdom concerning what needs rest and what still requires obedience. You do not have to promise that you will never struggle again.
Give God your yes for today. That is discipline. That is consistency. That is daily surrender. Do not condemn yourself for what you feel. Bring it before God honestly. Let Him show you where discipline needs to grow and then make the next obedient decision. You do not have to solve your entire life today. You only have to be faithful with today.
Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, thank You for another morning and another opportunity to follow You. Thank You for reminding me that this journey is not built upon one emotional moment, one prayer, one devotional, or one decision. You are teaching me how to walk with You consistently, and I acknowledge that consistency requires discipline. Father, there are days when obedience feels easier than others. There are days when I feel full of faith and days when my emotions feel heavy. There are moments when I want to forgive and moments when the hurt still feels fresh. There are times when waiting feels peaceful and times when waiting frustrates me. Help me remember that my feelings are real, but they do not have to become the final authority over my decisions. Holy Spirit, teach me to acknowledge what I feel without allowing every feeling to lead me. When I am angry, give me wisdom before I speak. When I am hurt, help me respond from healing rather than retaliation. When fear rises, remind me of what is true. When impatience rises, keep me from moving ahead of Your wisdom. When pride appears, give me humility to listen, receive corrections, and apologize when necessary. Father, develop discipline in the ordinary places of my life. Teach me to pause before responding, pray before panicking, listen before defending myself, and seek Your direction before assuming that my way is best. Help me stop negotiating with what Your Word has already made clear simply because obedience has become uncomfortable. Lord, give me grace when I fall short. Keep me from using grace as an excuse to remain the same but also keep me from using my mistakes as a reason to condemn myself. When I miss it, help me confess it, correct what needs to be corrected, learn from it, and keep walking. Father, I do not want my commitment to You to depend upon my mood. I want to follow You when I feel strong and when I feel weak, when I understand and when I have questions, when obedience feels easy and when obedience costs me something. Yesterday’s surrender mattered but today requires today’s discipline. So, I bring You this day. I bring You my thoughts, emotions, reactions, conversations, decisions, and desires. Let Your Spirit govern what my flesh wants to control. Let Your Word correct what my feelings may distort. Let Your wisdom guide me when I am tempted to move according to impulse. Father, help me carry today’s cross, make today’s decisions, practice today’s obedience, and give You today’s yes. If You give me tomorrow, I will need You again, but right now I choose to follow You today. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Nugget: Discipline is choosing what honors God even when your feelings are pulling in another direction. You do not have to carry tomorrow today, and you do not have to pretend every step is easy. Ask God for the grace to be faithful with the day in front of you, because yesterday’s surrender was necessary, but today requires today’s discipline.
Blessings…
Love, Dr. Jean…
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