Book of the Month
If you were to look at my bookshelf, you would see several of my old favorites, new favorites, and honestly, several books that I’ve never even touched. I used to do it often- buy books, begin reading them, and quickly put them away because I couldn’t quite get into them. It is sometimes a few months or a few years later before I ever give those books another look.
One morning after spending time in Proverbs and being really convicted of idleness, laziness, and lack of discipline, I wandered over to my bookshelf. After looking through several books I had read before, I found one of those that I had never really gotten into-
“Discipline: The Glad Surrender” by Elisabeth Elliot
. The title seemed pretty fitting for what the Lord had been convicting me of, so I have spent the last few weeks reading it.
Elisabeth Elliot, widow of famous missionary martyr Jim Elliot, has written several books. Though they vary from topic to topic, all are written in a
very
easy to read, conversational style. “Discipline” is no different. In this particular book, Elliot covers several aspects of discipline- starting with why we are to be disciplined as obedient followers of Christ, and then spending a chapter each on the individual disciplines of Body, Mind, Place, Time, Possessions, Work, and Feelings. Though each discipline rebuked and corrected me in a different way, the chapter that was most influential was on the discipline of feelings. I’ve been learning recently that in several ways I am the double-minded and unstable person James refers to in chapter 1 of his book. My emotions and feelings, fueled by my flesh, try to overpower the truth I know in my spirit- the truth of Scripture. But, like Elliot says,
“It is Christ who is to be exalted, not our feelings. We will know Him by obedience, not by emotions. Our love will be shown by obedience, not by how good we feel about God at a given moment.”
The Lord has definitely used this book to point me to Scriptures that have both convicted me of sin, and shown the importance of being disciplined in these various areas. I give it an A++!
