Real Hope Part 3

 WHAT DO I DO WHILE I AM EXPECTANTLY WAITING

           Actions show what one believes.  When you have excitement and faith it shows by the discipline you display.  The ability to stay on course no matter how long it takes or how hard it may be is important to reaching your goal. 

Discipline -Practice

A good example is losing weight. I bring this up because it is an area I am growing in.  If I do not believe I have the ability to lose weight I will not make the effort to discipline myself to eat healthy or exercise. But if I hope to lose weight and I believe that I can, I discipline myself to make healthy food choices and exercise no matter what my emotions say.  James 1:4 says, but let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be (people) perfectly and fully developed (with no defects) lacking in nothing. Discipline provides focus and propels you toward an expected goal. It keeps you from being a person tossed back and forth by emotions.  The first place of discipline is the mind.  Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you] (Romans 12:2).   The world’s way is to go with the flow, or how you feel, but feelings change moment to moment.  On their own they are very unpredictable. Living by feelings will eventually cause you to lose hope. Living by emotions will formulate bad habits.