The Devotion of Habit: Spiritual Disciplines That Form Us

“Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23, 24

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.“ 2 Corinthians 5:17

What are your thoughts when you hear or think about the words spiritual discipline? I have been reading a lot about habits lately. Many of us want to create new routines and habits, but we as humans also struggle to form and keep new habits. If you’re anything like me you see this gap between who you want to be and who you are in practice, and you set out to live differently to close that gap. You’re highly motivated in the beginning but as the reality of how hard it is takes hold, you start to lose that initial fervor. It takes intentionality, commitment, and accountability to start and sustain a habit and it often feels like an uphill battle. So, is it a battle worth fighting?

That’s why I love this reminder in scripture. It is a reference to how the LORD himself expresses his character through the practical application. The word here for “practice” means more like execution or accomplishment. A doctor may go to school to learn how to be a doctor but then practices medicine after graduation. God doesn’t need to practice steadfast love; He is love. But he executes steadfast love which flows from his very character. He is not just a good God in theory,  like an invisible Oz-like character, but in reality. Yet often, I can believe something or know something about God but get hung up in the application, relationship part. It never makes it from my head to my heart and thus my actions. It is in effect theoretical. I was the BEST parent before I actually was a parent and so on and so on. So if God, the perfect parent, lives out love every day, we have to figure out how to practically walk that out, even when it is hard.

The scripture above also reframes boasting, not necessarily as bad but very often misapplied. It tells us what not to boast about. Wisdom, strength, and riches are not necessarily bad, but when our security, time, and source of pride are found there, we will find ourselves off track. These all point to self-sufficiency. What should we boast about? Understanding and knowing the Lord. So, self-sufficiency is not the goal, but relationship and specifically relationship with the Lord is the goal. How does this relationship manifest practically in our lives: Practicing steadfast love, justice and righteousness on the earth.

So back to habits. Justin Earley writes in his book Habits of the Household (which I highly recommend if you’ve never thought about how your household habits are forming you) about how our heart always follows our habits, “If our hearts always followed our heads, we would not need to practice the things we learn. We’d just learn about it and the rest would follow, but that’s not how humans work, which is why the biblical understanding of sanctification is not just about education and learning but about formation and practice as well.” He later talks about habits as not a way to prove you are such a great believer but instead as something that builds a framework of habit in which love for God and others can grow.

“This is not a works-based legalistic endeavor, it’s a grace-based beautiful one. When brothers and sisters who came before us set out to form communal habits, they weren’t trying to prove or earn anything. They were trying to create a framework of habit on which the love of God and neighbor could grow. In fact, the Latin root for the word rule didn’t mean a law you had to obey. It connoted a bar or a trellis –a framework that allows life to flourish.”

So what is forming you? It seems like everything begging for our attention is trying to shape us in some way, but if we are not intentional about the things that we devote our time and effort to or what habits we are allowing to define us, we may find ourselves perpetually drifting away and becoming someone we don’t want to be. Are your habits growing you closer to the Lord or farther away? What are some spiritual disciplines or habits that you want to introduce to your life? What doesn’t necessarily come naturally to you?

So, how can we practically walk this out?

1. Start small. What is the least that you can do or commit to when it comes to loving practically the Lord, your children, husband, or coworkers? What are sore points for you throughout the day, and what is one small actionable step to changing that? In Earley’s book, he offers a toolkit of ideas and prayers for different “hot” points during the day like waketimes, bedtimes, conversations, etc. Sometimes when you don’t feel naturally adept at something, having an actionable step to fall back on even when it’s hard is incredibly helpful in keeping our emotions in check and keeping us closer to who we want to be as disciples. It may not feel natural at first, but in time it will become automatic. “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

2. Accountability. Grab a family member, bestie, sister in Christ or spouse and share with them what you’re trying to do. Check in often to see how it’s going. This is so encouraging to walk this road together and so needed.

3. Pray at all times. ^“pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Paul writes about continually going to God in prayer. Prayer shows us where our dependence needs to be. Is prayer hard for you? Me too. But God always gives us grace to meet us in our lack. “God doesn’t give us any command that he doesn’t also give the necessary grace to live out.” Courtney Reissig, Prayer

4. Celebrate your progress. Focus on progress, not perfection. Celebrate the times when you didn’t respond in the flesh, but acted according to who you are in Christ.

Father God, you know our hearts, the good, the bad, the ugly. You see where we are and where we’d like to be. Help us to identify where we need to change our habits to become more like you, not just in actions but in thoughts and heart. Soften our hearts for the things that you delight in.