Discipline and restraint aren’t punishment.
They’re preparation.
Restraint reveals what you’ve been feeding on.
Fasting exposes what controls you.
You can’t feast on Jesus if you’re stuffed with everything else.
Restraint isn’t punishment. It’s clearing room at the table.
Real spiritual life begins the moment you stop numbing the ache and start owning it.
That’s where Jesus meets you. Not at the end of your striving. But at the edge of your need.
Identify one thing you’re constantly consuming to not feel empty.
Say no to it once when you normally say yes.
Use that ache as a cue to turn to Jesus — prayer, scripture, worship, honest silence.
Not done as a formula. But as a posture.
The seed goes into the ground — burial, darkness — before it becomes a harvest.
The grape has to be crushed to become wine. The olive pressed to release oil.
The fruit has to give itself to become something greater.
Jesus Himself was crushed. His blood like wine. His life poured out like oil.
He entered the void — the tomb — so we could be filled.
The seed planted in darkness. The fruit that had to give itself to become something greater.
And now He stands at the door, knocking. Offering what actually fills.