Episode 379: I’m Talkin…Self-Discipline

I’m Talkin, episode 379 for July 20th, 2025.

This is Joel from the I’m Talkin microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking self-discipline.

So self-discipline is an interesting word.

It may be my first hyphenated word over the 300-plus episodes that I’ve done, but that’s neither here nor there.

But thinking of self-discipline in the world, this is something that everybody kind of wishes that they had more of.

Maybe there’s a desire to be more self-disciplined.

It’s a challenge that we give ourselves when we find ourselves lacking in that development or that arena or whatever it happens to be to be more self-disciplined about maybe exercise or reading, maybe more self-disciplined when it comes to eating or other things like that.

And so I think there’s always kind of a striving to be more self-disciplined in the world.

And when we can’t do it on our own, then we often may find help to make us more self-disciplined, some kind of therapy maybe or something like that.

And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

So as a Christian, the desire for self-discipline is much the same as that of the world.

Maybe our goals may be a little different.

Maybe we’re wondering why we don’t read our Bible more.

Maybe we wonder why we don’t pray more.

Maybe we wonder why we don’t have the self-discipline to have in-depth, serious conversations with our friends who don’t know who God is.

There are lots of challenges for us as Christians in the arena of self-discipline as well.

Well, today’s word comes from 2 Timothy 1.7, and that verse says, God has not given us the spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

What an awesome verse.

So this verse says we’re not left on our own to be self-disciplined.

It says we don’t need to look beyond anyone else when it comes to having this characteristic.

It is something that has been given to us.

It’s not something we even have to work for necessarily.

It says God has not given us the spirit of fear and timidity.

He has not given that to us.

He has provided us with power, love, and self-discipline.

Not to rule over others or to be self-important, but to know that we have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us.

We have the power to love beyond ourselves and beyond our desire or beyond the person or event or whatever stands in front of us.

And we have the power of self-discipline through the power of the Holy Spirit to do that every single day.

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talking Microcast.