Beloved,
As I was mapping out my week on Monday morning, I was freshly struck by the incremental gains of daily discipline. At the top of my planner for the week, I always write out my “top three.” These are my three biggest pursuits or goals, and this week they looked like this:
- Write AM & PM sermons
- Write TYCS vol. 8.57–60
- Memorize James 5:2–8
The last two “tops” were what particularly struck me. For they both evidence what Brandon Crowe argues so helpfully in his book on biblical productivity titled Every Day Matters: “Everyday matters in the sense that the daily things you do (that is, the seemingly inconsequential matters of daily life) are who you really are. Additionally, the results of what you choose to do on a daily basis add up over the long haul either to help you reach your goals, or to keep you from reaching your goals.”
I’ve been working on the eighth volume of the family worship series co-authored with Dr. Beeke since last fall. Writing has been painfully slow, and I’ve gone entire months without making any progress. But since Emma’s death, a fire has been lit under me. As I wrote a couple of weeks back, her funeral energized me. Time is precious and fleeting, and only what is done for Jesus will outlive my short little life! So I’ve been waking up extra early to devote an hour each morning to this writing project ever since returning from D.C. Over the past month, I’ve written more than I had in the three months prior combined! And the result is that this week I should wrap up my portion of this volume (Dr. Beeke being responsible for devotions 61 and following). There have been numerous mornings in the past month when I just wanted to stay in bed and skip writing. “After all,” my flesh reasoned, “it is just one morning of writing. It won’t make any difference!” But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every morning counts, as I have slowly chipped away at this project a little bit at a time. When I realized on Monday that I should be able to finish it this week, it highlighted the vital importance of incremental gains through daily discipline.
The same has been true of my Scripture memory. In early spring, I was challenged through our adult Sunday school class to commit the book of James to memory before beginning our sermon series on it. I mapped it out and realized it would require memorizing about six verses a week. This entails memorizing one new verse each day (taking Sundays off). Every morning over the past couple of months, I’ve recited all the verses I had memorized up to that point and then learned a new one. The recitation of memorized verses and the memorization of a new verse each day might seem inconsequential in the moment, but the consistent practice of daily discipline has resulted in me almost having the entire book memorized in just a few months. Reaching the final chapter of James has impressed upon me the truth that every day matters. A little bit each day adds up to a lot over time!
I share this with you as an encouragement to press on in your endeavors for the Lord, whatever they might be. Don’t underestimate the power of daily discipline in your pursuit of Jesus and your service to Him!
I wrote a devotion this morning for the family worship guide on Ephesians 5:15-16, and it seems fitting to close with the apostle’s exhortation here: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick