Discipline Is Worship: What I Realized That Changed Everything

I watched an Instagram reel the other day by @MattChenard - absolutely worth the follow.
It wasn’t flashy. Just a brother talking about how discipline is an act of worship.

That thought really hit hard.

As I laced up my shoes and headed out for a run, I kept mulling it over. I have been looking at this all wrong. Discipline for me was always a measure of worth; How good I was in comparison to someone else, or some societal gauge of greatness.

Paul wrote about disciplining his body daily. Yeshuah (Jesus) modeled it too—rising early to pray, staying faithful in the synagogue, living a life marked by quiet, consistent discipline. And ultimately, in His obedience to Yahweh:

He HAD discipline unto death.

He didn’t chase discipline for its own sake.
He lived it out because it He knew his mission - to reconcile us to the Father.

These men… our Messiah exercised their personal discipline out of love… out of gratitude.

And on that run, something shifted in me.
I wasn’t running because I am “supposed to”. It wasn’t anymore about self-improvement for it’s own sake. It wasn’t me trying to be good enough or compare with the guy next to me. It wasn’t even “me vs. me.”
It was: “God, I’m doing this because I am deeply grateful for all you have given me, and I want to live my life in a way that honors you.”

To Honor Him.

That mindset changed everything.

The energy felt different.
The motivation wasn’t coming from grit alone - it was coming from gratitude.

And it made me wonder:
How many of our daily disciplines - done in secret, done in silence - are actually acts of worship?

The way we eat.
The way we parent.
The way we study the Word, even when we don’t feel like it.

These little choices—often unseen by anyone but God - are forming us.
And more than that… they’re honoring Him.

Discipline isn’t legalism. It’s love with work boots on.

It’s not about earning anything.
It’s about responding to everything He’s already given.

And that - whether in a gym, a kitchen, or on a quiet morning run - is worship.

Let it stir something in you like it did in me.
Not pressure. Not perfection.
Just the quiet realization that your daily obedience matters.

Because the pursuit of holiness?
That’s worship.