Cultivating a good habit is like running a race. You start off with a burst of energy, full of motivation, but the real test comes after that initial burst has died down and you grit your teeth to persevere through. That’s why people say running is all mental, because at a certain point, it’s all about how your mental strength can envision the long-term rewards and value that benefit over the short-term pain. Habits are the same way.
So, actually, the time factor is actually helping me. I know we shy away from containing God in a box or to a mere 70 minutes. But when the regularity is in place, it establishes the structure in which God can move. Often, we have these broad, vague goals of “be more healthy” but it’s these goals that peter into non-existence before a week is over. Being intentional means making small, concrete goals that are achievable and being truthful on the inward parts means that when you say you will, you actually mean it. that’s been convicting.
I’m working through the daily devotional that my Singapore home church, Covenant Evangelical, gave to us. On the introduction page, it says:
God is looking for devoted disciples who flee from clamour, hurry and crowds, and cultivate the habit of abiding in God’s Word, delighting in God’s will and walking in God’s way.
This is what Project Shalom is about – being a disciple who flees from the clamour to cultivate the habit of abiding. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, “no soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of daily life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier”. I remember what the IDF soldier said about going from a bar with his girlfriend to the heat of battle in Ramallah in one night. Even when you are performing the affairs of daily life, you are always are of the alternate reality of which you are a part of. You can never fully immerse yourself in the culture because at any time, you must be ready to let go and be called into service.
In the culture that screams at me that my time is my own, I fight back against the current and fight to create that sacred space. Not entangling myself in the affair of daily life, but staying alert in the spirit, praying that God would open my eyes to the people around me. I flee from the clamour, hurry and crowds, and pray that God would make me into a disciple who abides in His Word.
dancing for an audience of One - 