10,000 Kicks and One Word: The Art of Spiritual Mastery

Today, we started 2 new books in our Bible reading through the year: Joshua and Ephesians. In Joshua, we learn that Moses has died, and Joshua is now tasked with leading the 2 million people to the promised land.

Be Strong And Courageous

God tells Joshua that he’ll be with him, as he was with Moses. He tells him to study, to meditate on God’s Word continually.

‘Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” ‘
Joshua 1:8-9

Spirit fed and led, leading by example.

As baptized believers and followers of Jesus, we have the same Holy Spirit as Moses, Joshua, and Paul. We might not be called to lead 2 million people into the promised land. But we are each called to be Christ’s disciples, servant leaders. We are walking, talking representatives of Christ. We have the honor and responsibility to guide our families, friends, and even the strangers we meet on the right path. We do this with love, gentleness, and kindness. We have to pray for the power to continually study God’s Word and meditate on it, so that we can obey and succeed in our calling.

The same Holy Spirit that split the Red Sea, parted the Jordan, and raised Christ from the dead now resides in us.

‘And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ‘
Ephesians 1:13

We need spiritual wisdom and insight; we need to pray for each other, as Paul did.

‘I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,  asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.   I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. ‘
Ephesians 1:16-21

I love how Paul prays that hearts will be flooded with light, and today’s verse is John 8:12.

‘Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” ‘
John 8:12 https://www.bible.com/bible/116/JHN.8.12.NLT

As Christ followers, we have the light that leads to life. We are in a spiritual battle; we are called to be warriors, strong and courageous.

Bruce Lee famously said something like:

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

What if we approached our spiritual training like that? What would our world look like if we practiced meditating on 1 verse 10,000 times? Oh man, how our hearts would be flooded with light.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you. Lord, distract us from our distractions; help us to focus on you; meditate on your goodness and your Word; and flood our hearts with the light of Christ. In the name, named above all names, the authority over all things, we pray to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.