Mark 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed.

Jesus sets the pace. He is our example. We should strive to be like Him in all that we do. He set aside time for personal relationship with His Father matter how busy or "in demand" He was. If the Son of God needed this, how much more do we?
You may say, "I've tried, but I have failed. I can't do it." Well, let's talk about that.
Sustained spiritual and physical effectiveness require discipline. Discipline, however, does not just magically appear. It is built over time. Let's look at some ways Jesus did this. He went to the synagogue, "as was His custom." (Luke 4:16) He went to the Mount of Olives to pray, "as usual." (Luke 22:39) In the morning He, "departed to a solitary place." (Mark 1:35) an occurance that is repeated multiple times in His ministry.
These were necessary disciplines that Jesus built into His life, not out of guilt or because someone told Him that's what He should do, but out of His understanding that prayer, praise, and words with His Heavenly Father provided Him with Godly wisdom and strength to withstand the opposition He would face, both spiritually (satan, demons) and physically (pharisees and angry mobs). Let's not forget the stubborn disciples who were pretty slow on the growth curve.
Anything that brings lasting, life-giving value can only be acquired through daily habits that are built over time. A lot of people can do things for one or two days, maybe even a week, but fewer are able to establish daily, reproducible habits that lead to the transformation of a person.
Transformation is the product of a life built on the back of discipline.
What do I mean? It takes a minimum of 21 days to establish a new habit in your life. Three weeks! Minimum! I actually think new habits take around 6 to 8 weeks to take root and lead to transformation, which means a person will have one to two months of fighting through the "I don't like this" or the "I'm uncomfortable" time. Most people will give up long before they reach a new way of living. It is much easier to say things like, "I can't do that." Or "I'm just not wired that way." Well, you're right!
As of now, your mind and body are not "wired" to rise early and spend time in the Word. It may not be "natural" to have daily conversations with the Lord in prayer. It may feel "strange" to sing praise and worship songs to God in your car. You may not "want" to be at your church every Sunday because you'd rather sleep in. After all, you deserve it. You worked hard all week!
Every one of those things that I just listed are given to us in God's Word as a way for us to grow in strength, wisdom, and knowledge as we are called to run a race for Jesus Christ with endurance! (Heb. 12:1-3)
How do you do this? You show up every day and push through the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable. It may not be your habit...yet...but through discipline, it will be...soon!
Discipline is essential to any building process. Discipline is required to get you over the wall of "I can't."
Discipline is your path to spiritual and physical growth through consistency.
Before you know it, one day will become a week. One week a month. And one month will lead to two. You will begin to see (and feel) spiritual transformation take place when you "look forward" to your time in the Word. You will begin to "protect" your alone time with God. You will "want" to be where Jesus is, and you will surround yourself with other like-minded believers (church).
Build discipline through Godly habits, my friends. Next week I will share with you the tools I used to start me on the journey to spiritual and physical transformation!
Josh

Josh Huisman is the senior pastor of New Hope Community Church in Brentwood, TN.
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