Self-Discipline is a topic many believers shy away from and act as if it's not necessary once we've accepted Christ, but the thing is before we can totally give in to the Holy Spirit, self-discipline is needed. You must take a decision deep down inside of you, accept and create a space for the spirit of God. They say you can't serve two masters at a time. We must be ready to take away the self in us and replace it with the spirit. Let's take for an example, a smoker who wants to quit smoking, but doesn't have the self-disciple to quit. It will be almost impossible for him/her to stop smoking without a personal commitment, and when you narrow it down to the things of the kingdom, you will agree with me that self-discipline is a personal commitment that comes willingly not forced or influenced by anyone to give in every aspect of our life to Christ and mean it. Self-discipline is letting the will of God take over our lives without trying to change it for ourselves. Self-disciple is that determination that is required of every believer to follow Christ until the last day. It takes self-discipline and the help of the holy spirit to subdue and not give in to the pleasures of the world.

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Some will argue that it is difficult for one to live a Christ-like life in this world of ours. Of course, I must admit the fact that the world is indeed a crazy place where if you don't belong to the world people tag you all such of things hence making it difficult for most believers to go along with the teaching of Christ. At some point, many believers find it hard to cope with these challenges, but St.Paul opens our eyes to things like this. To overcome such pressures that come from the world, family, and friends, we must have that self-control to be able to stand through Christ that strengthens us. It takes self-disciple to be able to know when to stop. Let me give another example of an adult that went to a wedding party filled with food and drinks. Ordinarily, it seems to be an opportunity to taste all the food or drink because they are free, but it takes someone who has the self-control to be able to know when his/her stomach is filled up to stop and not eat/drink to stupor because its free. Yes, a child can sometimes eat more than enough and end up feeling uncomfortable and crying the whole day. This is possible because the child doesn't have self-control hence can't control him/herself.

Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!
25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified
1 Corinthians 79:24-27 NLT

For every Christian, self-discipline is very important and a trait that we must all have to be able to have that walk with God. It will be difficult to go very far in life without having self-control. There are things that we are meant to do ourselves just like the saying that says, you can take a caramel to the river, but can't force it to drink. The holy spirit is there to use us if only we've made ourselves available and let the spirit of God take control of our lives. Self-discipline does not apply alone to our personal relationship, but it applies and covers every aspect of our lives. It takes self/control for a student at the university to study her books either than partying like every other student who wants to enjoy the campus life. It makes it easier for believers who are self-disciplined to be able to control what they do, how they do it, and power over self. It also sends a message to those around by letting them know that you are not easily distracted or influenced by others.

Our relationship with God requires a high level of commitment. And, to get and attract the blessings of God also needs that commitment. It takes serious commitment to be able to fast and be faithful about it, and not try to break the fast just because you seem to be very hungry on that particular day if you are not self-disciplined, it will be difficult to deprive yourself some things for the Lord then it becomes an habit to serve God at your own convenient. Sacrifices must be made which will definitely require self-discipline to achieve. It takes that determination for anyone to wake as early as 5 am to pray to God when others are busy enjoying their sleep. Yes, the will be there to whisper to your eyes to wake up, but it takes you to be able to get up from your bed. The holy spirit won't be the one to drag you up from the bed. These are the personal commitment and decisions that we need to make in order to have that deeper connection. Jesus was committed to the works of His Father and obeyed every word to the letter. Sometimes, we might want to compromise because of the way things are going around us, but having trust in the Lord that all will end in praise is all that matters.

In conclusion,

One of the things we need to do as believers is to remain focused as we prepare to meet the Lord, but in order to achieve this, we will need to be self-disciplined, determined as we sojourn in this earth.

Thank you for reading & God bless Y'all