I’ve referenced John Eldridge’s book Resilient in a previous blog post HERE. In his book, he is encouraging us to realize that what we have lived through as a people with the pandemic has had an effect on our perspectives and has shaped us in many ways. Many of those ways are not good.
Deep into the book he begins to pose the solution to the problems we’ve all lived through and he says this, “it’s the things that become habitual that shape our lives.” (Page. 179).
He goes on to say, “If we have made God our priority and we have a history of tapping into him, then we are in a much better position to draw upon his resilience when crisis comes. If we have tinkered with our spiritual life, if it has not been a priority, troubled times wake us up and urge us to prioritize God now.” (Page 179).
Our habits shape us. It’s not the other way around. We don’t shape our habits.
I’ve tried for years to lose some weight. 33 pounds to be exact. I have a goal weight and I’ve been hovering about 33 pounds over that weight. My eating habits literally shaped me. I weigh what I do because I do what I do. I’ve been eating poorly and not exercising regularly…until recently.
About two months ago, a book was recommended to me about eating habits. I read it and I changed my habits. As of today, I’m down 10 pounds and I have 23 more to go. As long as I keep practicing the same habits I’ve adopted, my shape will fall into place.
The habits we carry are powerful. You are today the sum of all your habits and decisions you’ve made up to today. Are you happy with where you are at? Are you on the right path? Is your destination clear?
Let me encourage you, just as John did in his book, start with the most important habit; your spiritual habits. Look to Jesus to be your strength and your courage. Running from Him only leads to ruin. I could belabor this point and go on and on, but if you are reading this and you have that feeling in your gut telling you that you need to change, listen to yourself and take action right now.
If you’ve never made a decision to follow Jesus, or you have questions, please reach out and contact me. I’d love to hear from you today. Do not delay. Let’s start a new journey together.
Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash