Self-Discipline Is Not Arrogance
Yesterday, Saturday, I had the honor of hosting our Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, the Most. Rev. Prof. Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, in a one on one podcast-styled conversation. A lot of nuggets of wisdom were dropped and I will be expanding on a few of them in the next few weeks on my blog. I could literally write an entire book of all the wisdom he shared in that short interview.
Nugget number one was when he described himself as a man of discipline and further explained that most people construe a person of discipline as someone who is arrogant but that is absolutely not the case. The Cambridge dictionary online describes a person of discipline as someone who is “able to carefully control the way that he/she works, live, or behave, especially to achieve a goal.” Do you know that human beings naturally like to control others? So, when we meet a person who is already in control of his or her own life and has set/defined boundaries, we get upset that we cannot disrupt their flow or they will not bend to ours.
The bible has a lot to say about self-discipline and when you meet a person who has really mastered it, honor them. In Hebrews 12:11, we learn that self-discipline yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. The Apostle Paul told the people of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that he disciplines his body and keeps it under control, lest after preaching to others he himself should be disqualified. I humbly share this that anytime I messed up it was because I did NOT stick to my own principles and tenets and yes the outcomes were never good for me. I’m also on a journey to stay the course of being disciplined, however painful or unpleasant it might be sometimes, so I can experience the peace that comes with knowing you’re safe within those boundaries you have set for yourself and for others.
I pray for you this week that the Lord will endow you with the spirit of self-discipline so that you will not be like a city broken into and left without walls. (Proverbs 25:28). Let it be so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.
Declarations For July 2025
Welcome to the beginning of the next phase of 2025. My declaration for this next phase is that the Lord, who gives wisdom and from Whose mouth comes knowledge and understanding, will give us wisdom generously without finding any fault with us.
Proverbs 3:13-18 (NIV)
13 Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed.
I decree and declare that these benefits of wisdom will manifest in our lives this month. It is so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.
The Edited Narrative
I was listening to a podcast and yes again it was with Dr. Cindy Trimm and I heard a statement she made that “God gives you dreams, aspirations and goals but we give people the right to edit our lives so we end up living to other people’s version of us.” Now, that’s a whole sermon.
When God told Jeremiah that “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”’, He was reiterating to us that EVERYTHING we will need to become who He has called us to be was already designed inside of us. (Jeremiah 1:5 paraphrased). Jeremiah was doubting himself because of the narrative that his environment, status, society and culture has probably defined about him. Jeremiah is not alone - we are all victims of the definition of people and our societies. We can’t seem to live authentically and we have given away our personal power to others to tell us how to live our lives instead of communicating with God, our father and creator. We are more interested in people’s opinions and narratives than the original narrative that God wrote about our lives. You do realize that most people have thoughts and opinions of your life but they can’t seem to practice these in their own lives, don’t you?
Do not allow people to live their lives through you. Look at the vision the Lord has placed inside of you and the direction He wants you to follow. Live your original life and follow the blueprint that was designed for you even before you were formed in your mother’s womb.
I pray for you this week that you will make time to communicate with God and hear His direction over every area of your life. I pray that you will live your narrative and not what is told to you. You can become everything God wants you to be and there’s no telling how amazing that person is. I declare it is so and so it is in Jesus name. AMEN!
XOXO,
Lady Abena.