God Habits.

We have been talking about ways that we can run our God race well so we finish strong. This week I was thinking about how important it is to cultivate God habits in our lives. We all have good and bad habits. Habits are formed from repetition. Whatever you keep doing becomes a habit. This means habits can be learned an unlearned.

I used to stress eat, but that was because I kept food around me when I was working. It probably started off innocent enough. I was just a bit hungry, and I happened to be stressed and I reached for a snack. However, I must have done that enough times such that whenever I was feeling stressed, I would pause to think about something and while my hands were free, I’d reach for a snack. It became a habit. My brain understood, stress = time to eat. Habits are learned and they can be unlearned.

We want to talk about God habits today. I think there is a difference between good habits and God habits. It is a good habit to not bite your nails when you are stressed or anxious. It is a God habit to cast your cares on Jesus because He cares for you, 1 Peter 5:7. It is a good habit to show up to church on Sunday. It is a God habit to put your hand to the plough and start helping in your church, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.

It is a good habit to pray when you can. It is a God habit to “make your life a prayer,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 TPT. It is a good habit to be nice to people, it is a God habit to treat them the way you would want to be treated, Matthew 7:12. It is a good habit to be grateful for good things in life. It is a God habit to give thanks in all circumstances, 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Good habits are good, but God habits require us to take that step further. They require us to stretch in our faith. They require us to look beyond ourselves and see things from God’s perspective. Ephesians 5:1 says, “Be imitators of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as His beloved sons and daughters.” By doing what the Bible tells us to do, we can develop God habits. When we develop God habits, we become imitators of God and we become good representatives of our Heavenly Father.

Jesus was so confident in His representation of our Heavenly Father that He said if someone had seen Him they had seen His Father, John 14:9. Having God habits helps us become more aware of God and He becomes a reality to us. When God becomes a reality to us, we can then release God inspired words in our everyday conversations that bring people closer to God. God is attractive, people want to be around Him. Jesus always had people following Him around. If people don’t like hanging out with you, maybe it’s time to learn and adopt a few God habits.

What areas can you grow and develop some God habits? That’s a question that you need to sit down and talk through with God. We usually think we are amazing until God graciously shines His light on an area of our lives and we realise there is room for growth. We all have areas where we can shore up our God habits or start new God habits. God habits are for our benefit. They help us grow and mature in our walk with God.

God habits train us for longevity. When faced with difficult situations, we don’t default to fear and panic. Instead of meditating on what could go wrong or the worst case scenario, we focus our thoughts on whatever is authentic and real, honourable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind, Philippians 4:8.

God habits help us to live life God’s way. John 14:23 says, “Jesus replied, “Loving Me empowers you to obey My word. And My Father will love you so deeply that we will come to you and make you our dwelling place.”” How awesome is that! All we need to do to be able to develop God habits is to love Jesus. Loving Jesus makes you want to do what His word says to do. It empowers you to work the word of God in your life and to develop God habits that will help you soar through the great times and push through through the tough times.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.