God offers each of us a great life, but we must renew our minds and learn to think on purpose if we want to experience all He has planned for us. Perhaps one of the areas we need to be most deliberate and purposeful about is the area of habits. Habits are actions we do repeatedly, sometimes without even thinking about them, or things we have done so often that they become our natural responses to certain situations.
For example, I have a habit of putting on lipstick after I eat when I am out in public. My friends tease me because I do it so often. I get out my pocket mirror and my lipstick, and I apply it. When I am home I use a lip moisturizer instead. I don’t believe I ever consciously think about it; I have just done it for so long that it is a habit. The moment I sense my lips feeling dry, I apply something to moisturize. I also wiggle my toes a lot. I don’t even know why I do it; it is just a habit. At least it keeps blood circulating in my feet, which is a good thing. Some people make a habit of putting their car keys in the same place every time they enter their homes or offices. Some make sure absolutely nothing is left in their in-box (whether it’s physical or electronic) at the end of each work day. Some have a habit of daily exercise or eating healthfully. Some fill their gas tanks when they are halfway empty instead of almost all the way empty. These are good habits. Of course, people have bad habits too-biting their nails, interrupting others when they are speaking, not turning lights off when they leave certain rooms, leaving messes for others to clean up, or being chronically late.
We all have habits such as the ones I mentioned; many of them are unique to us as individuals and we may not know anyone else who does what we do exactly the way we do it. Some habits that are harmless are not necessarily the ones we must be concerned with, but our harmful habits need to be broken and replaced with good ones. Bad habits are not broken simply because we want to break them; we must break them on purpose and that will require determination and diligence. I found thirty-four references in the Amplified Bible for the word habitually. That tells me that God expects us to form good habits. The psalmist David said that the man who wants to prosper and succeed needs to habitually ponder and meditate on God’s word by day and by night (see Psalm 1:2, 3, emphasis mine). This tells me that establishing the habits necessary for success takes discipline and consistency, especially in our thought life. With enough discipline and consistency, we can break bad habits and new ones can be formed.
Think about breaking a bad habit like you would breaking up with a bad boyfriend. Interestingly enough, we could miss the boyfriend even though we knew we did the right thing in breaking up with him. We might feel lonely for a while and be tempted to go back to him, but if we remain firm in our resolve we will eventually no longer miss him and find someone else that provides a healthy relationship for us. In like manner, we may break a bad habit and yet miss it for a while, even being tempted to go back to old ways. This is the time to set your mind and keep it set in the new direction because you don’t want to remain in bondage to the old and miss the good new thing God has for you. In the New Testament, Paul writes that we must habitually put to death the evil deeds prompted by the body if we want to truly and genuinely live (see Romans 8:13). He is simply saying that we must learn to discern what is not God’s will, and therefore not good for us, and we must habitually say no to those things. Doing the right thing once or even a few times does not equal success, but habitually doing right will produce a life worth living. It may not be easy, but it will be worth the effort. Don’t get discouraged if at first you feel you are making little or no progress in forming new habits. Remember that habits take time. As I mentioned in the Introduction to Part 1, some experts say a habit can be developed in twenty-one days, while others say it takes a month. I don’t know if these figures are accurate or not, but I do know from experience that anything I stick with thirty days does begin to get ingrained in my thinking, my character, and my routine. Thirty days gives me a good beginning and I would rather spend my time going forward rather than backward. So, if you need to form a new habit, give it a try for thirty days. At the end of that time period, see where you are. If it seems established, congratulations; you have a new habit. If not, stay diligent, disciplined, and focused and you will eventually succeed. The person who never gives up always sees victory.
Think about It
What good habits do you need to develop in your life? How will you start? When will you start?
“Lie Down”
Our golden retriever can get so overly excited that he will go into a seizure. To prevent that from happening, we try to calm him. We stroke him, speak to him in a soothing voice, and tell him to lie down. But when he hears “lie down,” he avoids eye contact with us and starts complaining. Finally, with a dramatic sigh of resignation, he gives in and plops to the floor.
Sometimes we too need to be reminded to lie down. In Psalm 23, we learn that our Good Shepherd makes us “lie down in green pastures” and leads us “beside the still waters.” He knows that we need the calm and rest that these provide, even when we don’t realize it ourselves.
Our bodies are designed to have regular rest. God Himself rested on the seventh day after His work of creation (Gen. 2:2-3; Ex. 20:9-11). Jesus knew there was a time to minister to the crowds and a time to rest. He instructed His disciples to “come aside . . . and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). When we rest, we refocus and are refreshed. When we are filling every hour with activity—even with worthwhile things—God often gets our attention by making us “lie down.”
Rest is a gift-a good gift from our Creator who knows exactly what we need. Praise Him that He sometimes makes us “lie down in green pastures.”
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your
care for our well-being in every area
of our lives. Help us to be rested
and refreshed in You.
If we don’t come apart and rest awhile, we may just plain come apart!
-Havner
Insight
The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue (Greek, meaning “ten words”), are 10 laws given by God as guidelines for daily living. The first four commandments (Ex. 20:1-11) place the worship of God as primary for His people. The first commandment (v.3) calls us to worship God alone. He is the only one we are to serve. The second (vv.4-5) urges us to worship God appropriately and correctly, for God doesn’t tolerate idolatry of any kind. The third commandment (v.7) directs us to worship God sincerely and reverently. Our actions and attitudes must not dishonor Him. The fourth commandment (vv.8-11) lays out the frequency, regularity, and consistency of our worship. We are to set aside one day each week for worship.
Read: Exodus 20:8-11
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.
Bible in a Year:
Numbers 12-14; Mark 5:21-43
