The Source of the Secret

También disponible en español

In February of last year, my wife and I spent a few days in the gorgeous city of Boston. The day we arrived, the weather was great, with a maximum of 50 degrees Fahrenheit and clear skies. By the last day of our trip, though, the sunny skies we had smuggled in our luggage from California had disappeared. The temperature had dropped to the more normal 20’s and there was plenty of snow on the ground. As we were browsing through the aisles of a downtown store that white morning, wearing all the appropriate gear we usually reserve for skiing in California, a couple walked by us wearing running clothes.

It was obvious from their blushed faces and wet tennis shoes they had just finished a morning run. My wife could barely hold her question to me for more than a few moments: "How can those two crazy people possibly go out for a run in this weather?" Mind you, we have lived in Southern California for more than 20 years and grew up in tropical countries. When the California temperature drops to 60 degrees, it is a good enough excuse to style scarves and beanies!

Hearing about athletes that train daily at 4 a.m. or do so in extreme weather conditions is not new or extraordinary - though it may sound crazy to some. In committing to a race, most people will say that you simply need to fit your training into the rest of your life. On the other hand, some folks don’t have much of a choice: if they live in the Midwest and are training to run a marathon in March, they need to log some long miles in the winter.

And then there are those who train and compete in truly taxing circumstances, overcoming significant barriers transcending the weather or geography. The number of marathon and Ironman^© event participants with disabilities or recovering from debilitating diseases appears to be rising. In our last article, the power of the secret was unveiled; what do you suppose the ‘source’ of “D” is for this last group of brave participants?

The source of the secret may be captured in one word: Desire. Take away the Desire in any endeavor, and it is not only virtually impossible to see it through, it is bound to languish, turning into just a routine we follow. The more challenging the contest, the higher the prize or place you seek in the podium of victors, the greater your Desire must be.

Is one of your endeavors to have God in your life permanently? Do you yearn for Him to be in every aspect of your walk? Deuteronomy 4:29 puts it like this: "But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Let’s see how Desire fits with the four dimensions of Christian discipline:

1. Prayer (Training)
If you desire Christ in your life, and combine that with disciplined prayer, there is no reason you won’t be closer to Him. An interesting relationship develops here, though: you must desire communication with Him, but you pray about His desires for your life.

2. Reading Scripture (Nutrition)
Your craving for the Word should prompt you to read the Bible more frequently and to seek His wisdom (or simply put, to eat more of the 'right' nutrients) to sustain your training in spiritual growth.

3. Fasting (Self-control)
Aspiring to live a righteous life with God will allow you to control your appetite for those things you know are bad habits and distractions away from your training.

4. Reflection, Service, and Worship (Cross-training)
Wanting to live a full Christian life must involve the desire to serve, the inner need to delve deeper into the Scripture, and the hunger for worshipping.

GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is (AB: Psalm 63:1).

The persistent desire to have the Lord in your life should drive you crazy (in the good sense of the word, of course!); it should fuel your willingness to get up a half hour earlier each morning to study scripture, as well as fuel your commitment to skip Friday night out for serving at church.

Now that you know the source of the Discipline, ask yourself: how much do I truly desire Christ to be in my life?

Jairo Ospina