Anchor

Anchored Not Impulsive: A Framework for Cultivating Spiritual Disciplines

ByJoseph Bucci 
Editor's Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Regent University, its faculty, administration, or affiliates.

My dog Bayley is a six-pound spunky Yorkshire terrier. That means he is ferociously competitive and confident when it comes to handling the big dogs at the Dog Park, and when chasing off that “scary mailman” or the Amazon delivery person ringing the doorbell. I contrast his confident, competitive nature in the Dog Park to his response to the latest thunderstorm. During a recent storm, Bayley cowered in the bathroom under my legs, shaking incessantly. These two scenes seem to be at odds with each other. Bayley does not realize that this house was constructed for these types of weather occurrences. Short of an all-out hurricane or tornado, we trust that the house will stand and life will continue on normally, unless the power goes out. Bayley cannot sense the security that we feel, because he is operating according to impulse (Canine Behavior Team, 2026).

Could we say that at times, when we are weary and anxiously worried about the future, we also operate by impulse and not according to the principles and standards to which we ascribe? As I move into my own season of health challenges, I can be anxiously impulsive when I allow my emotions to be affected by the storms of life and the uncertainty of outcomes. But unlike Bayley, I can choose to build my house on the rock that is Jesus Christ (see Matthew 7:24-27). In this passage from the ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ Jesus reminds His listeners to hear His words and act upon them. Hearing His word and putting it into practice — the spiritual disciplines — are links in the chain that hold us fast to that “anchor beyond the veil” (Hebrews 6:19-20), keeping us from drifting aimlessly in the storm.

The Bible uses different metaphors to describe the Christian life. One popular metaphor is that of a soldier. Several scriptures carry that soldier focus — for example, “share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3-4). We are told to put on spiritual armor to protect ourselves against spiritual and moral challenges (Ephesians 6:10-18). Spiritual disciplines help us to wage war against the impulses of our flesh, pulling down the enemy’s strongholds (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5).

Soldiers know hardships and challenges. They are committed to following the direction of their commanding officers, even at great cost or loss of life — this is a higher calling (Cru Military, 2026). They train to act decisively according to orders given. They are disciplined to act as directed, or not to act, depending on what their commanding officer instructs. Like a soldier, spiritual disciplines build the daily readiness, awareness, and endurance we need for the battles ahead (Jongsma, 2025) — the same readiness that keeps us from operating on impulse when the thunder rolls.

Pursuing spiritual disciplines aligns with this soldier analogy and is frequently mentioned by authors who describe the spiritual disciplines (Whitney, 1991; Morley, 2023). Whitney (1991) also offers another image worth considering: that of a musician pursuing perfection at great personal cost, in order to deliver a flawless performance on a chosen instrument.

Richard Blackaby, of Experiencing God fame, wrote that his own theology would rebuff the idea of the Christian life as a life of discipline (Blackaby, 2018). Blackaby suggests that an accurate picture of the Christian life is a love relationship, and love is the discipline (Blackaby, 2018). These pictures are not at odds. A soldier serves out of love of country, and his fidelity to command is itself an expression of that love, not a substitute for it. He does not drill because he loves rules more than the people he protects; he drills so that love and duty can survive contact with real danger.

This seems to align with what Henry Blackaby (Richard’s father) describes in the classic Experiencing God (Blackaby & King, 1994) — a pursuit of God rooted in relationship, where obedience flows out of love. Discipline is not a substitute for love of God; it is what keeps love from dissolving into impulse when the storms of life arrive.

Perspectives on Spiritual Disciplines

I have great respect for how these various authors — Foster (1978), Whitney (1991), and Morley (2023) — have identified critical spiritual disciplines to strengthen our faith and keep us on a steady path. I do think it is important to go beyond a general list of traits and to identify a framework that provides a disciplined approach.

God has given us a moral standard for how we should interact with Him, and with others, both personally and with regard to their property. This standard is called the Ten Commandments. While the Bible tells us we are no longer bound to keep the entire Mosaic law (Galatians 3:24-25; Romans 7:4-6), each commandment still points to a standard of holiness on which to build a discipline.

If we say that we do not have as much time as we would like to pursue these disciplines, here is what we can do: begin not only with a list of what to start doing, but also a list of what to stop doing, based on each commandment and its associated disciplines. What follows is that framework — each commandment paired with positive disciplines to start; and bad habits to leave behind.

1. “You shall have no other Gods before me.”

Central Focus: Him only shall you serve (Matthew 4:10). The first commandment sets the terms for everything that follows — worship is not one devotion among many, but the exclusive claim God makes on His people.

Disciplines to Start: Worship, Prayer, Celebration, Service. Each is a direct act of exclusive devotion to God — worship and celebration honor Him alone, prayer is the ongoing turn toward Him rather than substitutes, and service expresses that devotion outwardly.

Stop Doing: Self-Reliance. Treating one’s own competence, effort, or resources as sufficient is a quiet but real rival god.

2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.”

Central Focus: Foolish men worshipped creatures rather than the Creator (Romans 1:22-23). Idolatry is rarely a statue on a shelf; it is attention and affection misdirected toward something made rather than the Maker.

Disciplines to Start: Surrender, Study & Listening, Silence & Solitude. Surrender lays down the substitutes we shape for ourselves; Study & Listening corrects the ignorance of God that produces false images of Him; Silence & Solitude clears away the noise that idols so easily fill.

Stop Doing: Dependence on People or Things.

3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”

Central Focus: Merciful, gracious, abounding in love (Exodus 34:5-7). To invoke God’s name carelessly is to treat lightly a name that describes His own faithful character.

Disciplines to Start: Integrity of Speech, Doing What We Say. Our words, like God’s name, should be trustworthy and not spoken lightly.

Stop Doing: False Promises; Talking without Thinking.

4. “Remember the Sabbath.”

Central Focus: The Sabbath was kept as a sign (Exodus 31:13) that God rested from His work — and invites His people into the same rhythm.

Disciplines to Start: Rest, Meditation, Delight. Each reflects God’s own pattern of ceasing work to dwell in what He had made.

Stop Doing: Endless Scrolling.

5. “Honor your mother and father.”

Central Focus: A commandment with a promise attached (Ephesians 6:2-3) — honoring those God has placed in authority over us.

Disciplines to Start: Respect for Authority, Honor Others, Counsel. Honoring parents extends naturally to honoring godly mentors and submitting to wisdom beyond our own.

Stop Doing: Demanding; Unreasonable Expectations.

6. “You shall not murder.”

Central Focus: Every life carries dignity and value; Christ traces murder back to unresolved anger and contempt (Matthew 5:21-26).

Disciplines to Start: Reconciliation, Respect, Forgiveness. If contempt is based on unresolved anger, forgiveness is the discipline that resolves it.

Stop Doing: Generalized Criticism; Pettiness.

7. “You shall not commit adultery.”

Central Focus: More than the physical act — a matter of the heart (Matthew 5:27-32).

Disciplines to Start: Fidelity, Faithfulness, Accountability. Together they guard both the outward act and the heart behind it.

Stop Doing: Disrespecting One’s Partner; Comparisons.

8. “You shall not steal.”

Central Focus: Respect for what belongs to others (Leviticus 19:11).

Disciplines to Start: Stewardship, Trust in God’s Supply. The antidote to taking is trusting that God has already provided.

Stop Doing: Helping Yourself (at others’ expense).

9. “You shall not bear false witness.”

Central Focus: Let your “yes” be “yes” (Matthew 5:33-37).

Disciplines to Start: Truth Telling, Honesty, Confession, Evangelism. Where false witness distorts truth, true witness — bearing testimony to Christ — proclaims it.

Stop Doing: Back-Biting; Gossip; Exaggeration.

10. “You shall not covet.”

Central Focus: God Himself is our source (James 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:6).

Disciplines to Start: Gratitude, Simplicity, Contentment, Fasting. Each trains the heart to find its satisfaction in God rather than in what it lacks.

Stop Doing: Self-Pity; Hoarding.

Anchored, Not Impulsive

A soldier does not discover his training in the middle of the battle; he discovers only whether he trained at all. That is the real argument for building these disciplines into the ordinary, undramatic days, long before the storm arrives. The discipline we skipped because it seemed inconvenient does not announce itself until the moment we need it most — and by then it is too late to drill. These disciplines are not meant to be assembled the night the storm hits; they are meant to be practiced now, so obedience becomes reflex rather than effort.

Bayley cannot help but respond to the storm on impulse, because he has no framework for reading the walls around him as trustworthy. We have been given more: an anchor that reaches beyond the veil (Hebrews 6:19-20), and now a set of disciplines mapped, commandment by commandment, to the character of the God who holds that anchor steady. When anxiety comes for us the way thunder came for Bayley, we do not have to cower, shaking, waiting for it to pass. We can stand, not because the storm is any less real, but because we already know our house will hold – it is built on the Rock (Matthew 7:24-27).

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