Tag Archives: Spiritual Discipline

Pastoral thoughts

Habitual Habits

About a month ago my wife reorganized our kitchen shelves. They are certainly much better now than they were. Except – I still habitually reach where the gum and candy used to be instead of where it now is. I have a feeling it’s going to take a while to build a new habit. It’s brought to mind other scenarios from my past. In high school, for example, one of my teachers covered the classroom clock for a week – and I realized on Friday that I was still looking at it just as often as I did before he did so. I also recall the time I changed the location of my shampoo and tub spray cleaner in my shower because the sizes of each dispenser had changed. It seemed simple enough – except for the power of habits. After several years of automatically reaching for shampoo on the ledge, I found it was difficult to automatically reach up for it from the shelf. That means, of course, that on more than one occasion I almost sprayed my head with shower cleanser! I was amazed at how long it took me to get to the point where I automatically reached up for the shampoo.

These repeated scenarios center on the power of habits. Habits, whether good or bad, are established over a period of time. And once ingrained they are automatic and therefore hard to break. That’s why God repeatedly told the Israelites to form good habits. In Exodus, for example, God gave them the 10 commandments, the habits by which to live. In Leviticus He laid out worship and sacrifice habits to provide a framework for holiness. In Deuteronomy 6: 5-6 He commanded them to establish teaching habits: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.”

So it is really not surprising that when His people started letting go if these habits, they began wandering into the land of disobedience and walking further and further away from Him. So God sent the prophet with a message “This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16).

He told them to return to the proven ways, the tried and true habits, of their ancestors. In other words, “When you’re in need of a habit, look to your habits.” These habits were the paths that would return them to rest and renewal.

Centuries later Jesus taught the same thing about habits. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt. 11:28-30).   Knowing the heart of people, knowing the tendency of humans to lose self-discipline and therefore to wander, Jesus invited His followers, and us, to take up His yolk, His habits, His way of life. “When you’re in need of a habit, look to your habits.”

 Habits were the core of Jesus’ life. Time apart – alone – with his Father and seasons of prayer led to days of ministry and holy living. Then again came  time apart – alone – with his Father and seasons of prayer. Should our habits be any different? Whenever we feel we’re wandering away from God, whenever we feel apart from Jesus, when life is tiring us out it’s time for a time out. It’s time to get back to basics, to return to our habits. “When you’re in need of a habit, look to your habits.” And the more firmly entrenched our habits become, the harder they will be to break. And the amazing truth is these habits do not constrict us. As the Psalmist wrote “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free” (Psalm 119:32).

Whether in the kitchen, the classroom or the shower, ingrained habits are hard to break. So make sure the habits you diligently develop are good ones. Perhaps, just perhaps, this quarantine time is God’s gift to us – He’s giving us time to develop some healthy spiritual habits, to establish some practices that will be habitual when life returns to its new normal. “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

 

 

 

 

Pastoral thoughts

A Picture is Worth …

The old English idiom states “A picture is worth a thousand words.” So take a look.


Hollow Tree_0501                                          Fallentree_0503

Now not a thousand but a few words. A hollow tree will eventually fall. With no inner strength there is no outer strength. Storms and winds will ultimately prevail.

What’s true for trees is true for people as well. If we are hollow on the inside, we will eventually succumb to the storms and winds. That’s why the Psalmist declared “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither. Whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3). Since character is not made but rather displayed in crisis, God is less concerned with how high we climb than He is with how deeply we’ve dug our roots. As Charles Spurgeon once said, we must penetrate below the soil and reach the secret fountains of grace. Since Satan’s ploy is to keep us shallow we must take the time and faithfully attend to the discipline of planting roots. The real question is, what would be left if you were cut off from everyone and everything? Would your roots run deep enough into Christ that you could withstand? Whether you survive tough times depends on the state of your discipline.

In the movie Karate Kid, young Daniel asks Mister Miagi to teach him karate. He agrees with one condition—Daniel must submit totally to his instruction and never question his methods. Daniel agrees and shows up eager to learn. But Miagi has him paint a fence, demonstrating the precise motion to use; it takes Daniel days to finish the job. Then Mr. Miagi tells him to scrub the deck using a prescribed stroke; again, it takes days to finish the job. Daniel wonders what this has to do with karate but keeps quiet. Next, Mr. Miagi instructs him to wash and wax three weather-beaten cars, again with a prescribed motion. With that, Daniel reaches his limit: “I thought you were going to teach me karate, but all you have done is have me do your unwanted chores!” He’s now broken the one condition, and Miagi’s face pulses with anger: “I’ve been teaching you karate! Defend yourself!” He thrusts his arm at Daniel, who instinctively defends himself with an arm motion exactly like that used in one of his chores. Miagi kicks, and same thing happens. Several more times, the same thing happens. Miagi simply walks away, leaving Daniel to discover that skill comes from repeating seemingly mundane but correct actions.

Spiritual disciplines develop in us the strength and skill to survive the tough times. I encourage you to evaluate your daily schedule and activities. How much time do you spend in intentional contact with God through prayer, Bible reading, fasting, or serving? Are your roots deep enough that you are strong on the inside? Is what’s on the inside strong enough that you are able to withstand the storms and winds?

Jesus painted a similar picture. “To have good fruit you must have a healthy tree; if you have a poor tree, you will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it bears” (Matthew 12:33 GNT). Do you want to be known for good fruit, no matter the circumstances? Develop your roots.

NOTE: My book, “When the Going Get Tough…” has a chapter on how Joseph developed the spiritual disciplines that made his life “a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.” For more information visit www.revcpikk.com.