Editor, The Times, I read a devotional recently in Guideposts that really touched me and I wanted to share it with your readers. It was written by Winn Collier. It is a good lesson about living a disciplined life in service to the Lord.
“It was June 2016 during the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday. From her carriage, the monarch waved to the crowds passing in front of long lines of red-coated soldiers standing at perfect, unflinching attention. It was a warm day in England, and the guards were dressed in their traditional dark wool pants, wool jackets buttoned to the chin, and their massive bear-fur hats. As the soldiers stood in rigid rows under the sun, one guard began to faint. Remarkably, he maintained his strict control and simply fell forward, his body remaining straight as a board as he planted his face in the sandy gravel. There he lay — somehow still at attention.
It took years of practice and discipline for this guard to learn such self-control, to hold his body in place even as he was falling unconscious. The Apostle Paul describes such training “I discipline my body and keep it under control.” (1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV) Paul recognized that “everyone who competes... goes into strict training.” V. 25.
While God’s grace (not our efforts) undergirds all we do, our spiritual life deserves rigorous discipline. As God helps discipline our mind, heart and body, we learn to keep our attention fixed on Him, even amid trials or distractions.
Sandra Strickland Blackshear
