Blake Long

I’m not really into New Year’s resolutions. I don’t think they’re silly, but for me, it’s easy to start one and then quit after a few weeks or a month.

I’ve been there many, many times. And I’m sure you have, too — unless you’re more disciplined than the rest of the world. (And if you’re more disciplined, maybe this article isn’t for you!)

Not doing an official resolution doesn’t mean I don’t have goals for myself. It just simply means I’m not going to set myself up for failure; I’m not going to fall into despair if I stop doing something I told myself I’d do everyday, or something similar.

If I think of goals for 2025, I can’t simply choose one thing. So what I’ll say is what I said last year: I want need to be more disciplined. I need to exercise more self-control in many areas of my life. That is true on January 1 and the rest of the year.

Diet/Fitness

I am not overweight. Technically, I’d probably be considered overweight according to my BMI, but that’s just not a realistic picture of one’s overall health, in my opinion. Though I don’t consider myself overweight, I am certainly not as healthy as a should be.

But I want to take my diet and fitness more seriously. As I’ve written before, I have never needed to worry about my physique or weight. But now at the age of 30, married, with two children, things are catching up—and fast. I have to be far more disciplined about eating clean foods, and far less junk food (why does Chick-fil-A have to taste so good)? And in the last month I’ve begun to workout. (I’ll do some weights and go about two miles on the treadmill [a combination of sprinting, jogging, and walking]).

Point is, I need to take my physical health seriously, and that starts with what I consume and how I stay active. I’m getting better at it (sort of) but I still desire to be more disciplined.

Reading

By reading, I don’t merely mean my Bible (although it’s certainly not less than that). In my college days—when I had all the time in the world—I read constantly. If I had time, I was reading.

Nowadays I have less time to read, but I still have plenty of time. Most mornings I read my Bible at about 6 a.m. I usually read one chapter. It’s a good way to start my day. But in the evening I could do a lot better about reading another book and spending more time doing that than watching TV, for example.

Part of my “problem” with New Year’s resolutions regarding Bible reading plans, for example, is that it focuses on the quantity or longevity of the plan (for the most part). Hence, the burnout or falling behind. What I want to focus on is the quality of my reading. My goal is to always read one chapter a day in whatever book I’m in. If the chapter is relatively long, I may focus my attention just on a section so I can absorb it.

Praying

H.B. Charles shared the below from Spurgeon recently and it deeply convicted me.

A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honor of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father’s face, and live in thy Father’s love. Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of his love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The motto for this year must be, ‘Continue in prayer.’

Continue in prayer. Or as Scripture says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Christians ought to be people of sincere, heartfelt prayer. We pray for wisdom, for courage, for strength, for faith—for everything. Our prayers reveal our dependence on God; when we don’t pray, it displays our lack of trust in Him.

I need to be far more intentional with prayer. Some days I lie down in bed at night and wonder if I’ve prayed at all that day. So, I want to be much more disciplined in my prayer life, and that means I need to be intentional with my prayers.

Family Discipleship

This is an area that, in many cases, I believe I have failed. I know there’s not a one-size-fits-all guide to family discipleship, but I certainly don’t do enough, whatever it looks like.

As the spiritual leader in my home, it is ultimately my responsibility to lead our children to following Jesus. It is ultimately my responsibility to have devotions with them (along with my wife, of course) that piques their curiosity of who God is, what He’s done for us, and that He loves us.

To be sure, we have a five-year-old and three-year-old, so it’s not as if we have deep theological discussions. (Our firstborn is beginning to understand many basic things about God, and I can tell her wants to know more. I’ve already tried explaining what the Trinity is to her—that was fun.) But I struggle with gathering them together and doing a formal family devotion. We certainly pray together—before every meal and (sometimes) before bedtime. And we do read books to them about the gospel. But I could certainly have more discipline in formally doing family devotions.

Discipline and the Christian

Having discipline as a Christian is vital to a healthy spiritual life and glorifying God. We can’t just glide through the Christian life. It takes effort; it requires energy; it calls for discipline.

We have discipline in our lives because we desire to glorify God. We strive to read our Bibles and pray, for example, to grow closer to the Lord. All these things are beneficial to enjoying sweet communion with God, through Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit.