Is It Really Worth It? The Value of Spiritual Disciplines

Excerpt from an article written for Machias Valley Baptist Church:

“If the enemy cannot deter you with destruction, he’ll settle for distraction. “

(paraphrased from Beth Moore)

“Are you listening to me?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Yup.”

Truth? I wasn’t listening. I was distracted. Physically present; mentally absent.

Lately, I have been in a season of distraction. It’s been a busy summer for our family with one daughter graduating from high school and our other daughter getting married, all within the span of 10 days. We have a few weeks to catch our breath and then we will move our youngest daughter to college 1,000 miles away. I have still been in the Word, doing my daily reading and regular “quiet time” routine in the morning, but my mind has not been as focused. I have been going through the motions knowing there is value in spiritual disciplines but battling disengagement.

We all have times when we are simply going through the motions and our church attendance, Bible reading, and serving seem stale and rote. We may question our disciplined activities: Is this really worth it? Is it making any difference? I guess it’s not a big deal if I skip church today. I don’t feel any different. What’s the point?

Though we should never base our faith on our experience, God often graciously does give us experiences that prove His trustworthiness. When God gives us instructions, it is always for our good even though we do not see the immediate benefits or purpose. As we learned in our sermon series on the spiritual disciplines, God works through spiritual disciplines in our lives to speak to us and make us more like Him. This proved true in my own life during my distracted season.

You can read the entire article here.