IN TRAINING

"Everyone who competes...goes into strict training."
1Corinthians 9:25 NIV

Author Brian Tracy was at a conference when he met Kop Kopmeyer, an expert in the field of success. Kopmeyer has written four best sellers based on 250 principles he observed from fifty years of research. Tracy asked him, "Of the 1,000 success principles you discovered, what's the most important?" Without hesitation Kopmeyer replied, "Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not." We are like sticks of dynamite; the power is on the inside but nothing happens till the fuse gets lit. Self-discipline lights the fuse, and without it, even if you've been blessed with talent, a good background, education and opportunity, it can be a struggle to rise above mediocrity.

The same principle that governs physical fitness governs spiritual fitness. To get what you've never had, you must do what you've never done. It takes: (1) Discipline. Thankfully, "God has...given us...power...and self-discipline" (2Ti 1:7 NLT). (2) Faith. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Ro 10:17 NKJV). (3) Determination. You don't always feel like exercising every day, but when you do it you feel better, right? And when you don't feel like doing what God says but you do it anyway, your feelings catch up with your actions and you're glad you did it. (4) Accountability. Having a trusted friend monitor your progress increases your odds of maintaining new habits. Lack of accountability makes it easy to revert to your old ways. Bottom line: you are in training to win "a crown that will last forever."