Your routines design your life.
What you do everyday builds your body, your spirit and your future.
If you want your life to improve – change your daily actions.
It is not the dramatic one off events that cause change… but what you do every day.
Do you even know your habits?
Everything you do in life, from what you eat to what you think…
is made up of habits… and the daily habits are the most important.
Where is God in all this?
Is he part of your routine?
That your life is in your hands.
You choose your future by what you do today.
In 3 months time every cell in your body will be renewed.
The condition of your house and your car will depend on how you regularly care for it.
The people in your life will be those whom you give time to and focus on.
This is why we have annual reviews at work – to reflect on our daily performance.
What you do every day in everything counts.
First let’s look at diet.
Something that preoccupies many people.
It should be easy to lose weight if you want to right?
No one is forcing you to eat unhealthy food.
Just eat less junk. In fact... don’t eat at all.
A 21 day fast should sort things out. That rarely works.
Why? Because it is soo hard to keep the motivation and the momentum.
And… when you deny yourself something, your brain instinctively starts to long for it.
So before you know it you have ordered pizza and ice cream.
It is not the dramatic starvation diet that leads to successful weight loss, but the gradual daily reduction.
Change happens at the margin.
If you typically burn 2000 calories a day… and each day you eat 2200, at the end of a year you will have gained 21 lbs… at the end of 10 years… 15 stone.
So, on the above example, if you want to lose weight… eat 400 calories less a day.
What you eat every day has an impact on your health and weight.
And… it’s the little things that make a big difference over time.
So… if you want to lose weight… eat 2 less biscuits a day or skip the pudding, packet of crisps or the chocolate bar…
and see how much you lose over a year.
WHETHER THEREFORE YE EAT, OR DRINK, OR WHATSOEVER YE DO, DO ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
1 CORINTHIANS 10:31
This applies to everything in life.
How you deal with your work, exercise, domestic chores, home maintenance, relationships.
See how important what you do every day is for building your body, your life and your walk with God?
BUT JESUS HIMSELF WOULD OFTEN SLIP AWAY TO THE WILDERNESS AND PRAY
LUKE 5:16
What do you diarise?
Do you schedule prayer time?
There are many bible apps which make this easy… and it can be 10 or 5 mins.
Pray when you wake, before you eat and before you go to bed.
That’s 5 times a day.
Linking prayer to something else you do automatically ensures you don’t forget.
That’s less than an hour a day for God.
Still can’t fit God in?
It is probably because you have not automated prayer as a routine… not because you can’t be bothered.
FOR THE WORD OF GOD IS ALIVE AND ACTIVE. SHARPER THAN ANY DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, IT PENETRATES EVEN TO DIVIDING SOUL AND SPIRIT, JOINTS AND MARROW; IT JUDGES THE THOUGHTS AND ATTITUDES OF THE HEART.
Can you give God half an hour a day? No.
Analysing how much time you waste can sometimes shock you.
Some of it is unavoidable. I spent 20 minutes looking for my car keys. They were in my car, but I simply could not find them. I was lying on the road looking under my car, moving the seats back and emptying the glove compartment… three times over. They were in the boot in a bag of things meant for the charity shop. So I had unconsciously dropped them in there whilst loading the car.
Or is it unavoidable?
What if I had paid more attention whilst loading my car… and ensured my keys were in my handbag? What if that became my routine that my keys are always in my handbag?
This is a simple example but if we made more things a set routine we would save so much time… some of which we could give to God.
God who is always there, patiently waiting for your attention.
God who loves you and wants only the best for you.
There are lots of Apps to help you.
Some divide the Bible into an annual course… so that you can read the Bible in a year.
Some divide the Bible into themes…
Did someone betray you?
Do you need to make an important decision?
Are you struggling with addiction?
Some deal with emotional needs.
Are you looking for support?
Encouragement?
Comfort?
Strength?
Joy?
What they all have in common is they divide the Bible into digestible chunks.
The task is broken down into manageable pieces so that you do not feel overwhelmed.
So, if reading the bible every day is not part of your routine I encourage you to start immediately. Chose a time that suits you.
Every morning?
Lunch time?
Early evening?
Before you go to bed?
Pick which works best with the rest of your commitments.
The important thing is to block off the time, and set it for the same time every day.
Why bother?
The benefits of doing so will be the subject of another post!
FATHER GOD WE ASK THAT YOU SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT TO HELP US MANAGE OUR TIME AND OUR HABITS. WE ASK THAT YOU HELP US TURN TO YOU MORE, BOTH IN TIMES OF SADNESS AND JOY. IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY. AMEN