Willpower Can't Take You Where Discipline Can

Spiritual willpower will never get you where spiritual discipline can.

There is an incredible window in Scripture where we get to see the dynamics of God’s presence carrying us through our struggles. It’s recorded in the synoptic gospels.

In Mark 14, arguably the oldest account of Jesus, we see Peter claiming emphatically, 

“Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you!”

Peter says this in response to Jesus prepping him for the reality that he will disown Jesus (and Peter dearly loves Jesus) before a rooster crows twice this very evening. 

Here’s the thing. Peter wasn’t lying. Peter wasn’t all talk. In that very moment, he wholeheartedly believed what he was saying to Jesus. Peter’s willpower was at an all-time high.

But willpower will, at best, barely get you halfway anywhere. The discipline of being in the continued presence of God carries you everywhere. 

We see this in Jesus, who, on this evening, did what he did just about every day: withdrew to a quiet place to be with his Father (Luke 5:16, 6:12; Mark 6:46).

Jesus and his friends head to Gethsemane to pray, and Jesus immediately does what he’s been disciplined to do: be with God. Peter and the disciples immediately do what they’re conditioned to do: get bored and sleep. This doesn’t mean they never prayed or had any discipline, but the fervor Peter displays only hours before is already waning, because the hype of willpower can’t last the night. 

When Jesus gets arrested, adrenaline starts to run—things get intense—Judas kisses Jesus and walks away—and willpower finds a surge! One of the disciples (John says it’s Peter) cuts off an ear in the heat of the moment to defend Jesus. 

But only a few hours later, when Jesus is being seriously interrogated, people start to question whether Peter is allied with Jesus.

And he responds along with the depth of his willpower… He says, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

And just like that, Peter’s best intentions don’t become his preferred actions. 

Willpower has good intentions, but discipline produces action.

The rhythm of discipline aids the Spirit of God working in your heart and life.

Some people mistakenly think that spiritual activity is a mental exercise:

If I can just have faith in God and trust His spirit to work in my life, I’ll think the right thoughts and my actions will follow.

But the bible doesn’t say anywhere that dependence on God’s Spirit is some mental exercise. There is an old thinker who says that, though. His name was Plato. Not Jesus.

In actuality, you were designed to lean into God’s presence with rhythms and discipline. That is one of the key ways you place your faith in God and believe in His work in your life. As Christians, we believe that we cannot do right by God on our own, and rightly so. God’s work sets us up to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10).

But don’t make the mistake of thinking your disciplines and rhythms are a lack of trust in God’s work. Quite the opposite.

Discipline is an act of trust. It’s a step of faith. You’re believing in faith that God will meet you in your moments set apart to Him, and that those moments will have an immense impact on future moments of trial and suffering. Those moments will shape you into the image bearer you were meant to be. Those moments create a person formed by a relationship with God. The disciplines of those moments are faith, because faith is not just a mental exercise.

Willpower isn’t bad. It’s given by God to be a great first step. It just won’t lead you any further.