What Our Routine Reveals About Our Soul
Is shelter-in-place growing strangely normal for you?
For me, I’ve noticed over the past forty-plus days, our whole routine has gone through waves of adjustment.
We’ve let go of some habits and gained new ones.
Some good.
Some not so good.
From streaming Netflix to playing outdoors, our habits can shape who we are and what we become.
What habits have you picked up during this time?
What habits have you left behind?
Philosopher, James K.A. Smith, connects the power of habits to the Christian understanding of liturgy.
Liturgy is a religious routine, whether read, enacted, prayed, sung, etc., that makes up the formational power behind corporate spiritual experience.
The best liturgies turn our attention to God and keep our mind and heart at rest in Him. Check out this note from his book, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit:
“‘Your deepest desire,’ he observes, ‘is the one manifested by your daily life and habits.’ This is because our action—our doing—bubbles up from our loves, which, as we’ve observed, are habits we’ve acquired through the practices we’re immersed in. That means the formation of my loves and desires can be happening “under the hood” of consciousness. I might be learning to love a telos that I’m not even aware of and that nonetheless governs my life in unconscious ways.”
If this is true, the habits we practice during shelter-in-place deeply affect who we are and who we are becoming.
What does your routine during shelter-in-place reveal about who you are and what you love?
When we reflect on our actions, especially during this season of major transition, it’s easy to slip into guilt and shame.
But we have to remember that our good or bad habits do NOT define our identity.
The wonderful news of Christianity is that our habits, for better or worse, are powerfully transformed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Grace is an unconditional love that, if we really receive it, can re-condition our whole lives from the inside out.
Habits are powerful tools, and in the hands of God, these tools can be used by a highly skilled Mastercraftsman. And he calls us His masterpiece!
“ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
In future posts, we’ll explore the complexity of how God can use habits, so stay tuned!
But the most important thing is to begin and practice your habits with God. For anything done apart from Him is vanity (John 15:5).
Rather than making an immediate judgment-call on these new habits, why don’t we hold them before the God who loves us no-matter-what?
What would it be like to bring this new routine before Him?
Let Him speak to you about who you are in the midst of these habits. Ask Him what He thinks about you and about your routine.
Let this dialogue lead into a dynamic conversation with God. He may affirm who you are in the midst of crisis. He may shine light on your deeper need. He may draw you close for comfort.
Be honest with Him.
Open His Word.
Rest in His presence.
Let these inform the habits you’ll carry into the future.
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PS: If it is helpful, take a few moments to pray through these powerful lyrics by Andrew Peterson from his song, Be Kind to Yourself:
“You got all that emotion that’s heaving like an ocean
And you’re drowning in a deep, dark well
I can hear it in your voice that if you only had a choice
You would rather be anyone else
I love you just the way that you are
I love the way He made your precious heart
Be kind to yourself
Be kind to yourself
I know it’s hard to hear it when that anger in your spirit
Is pointed like an arrow at your chest
When the voices in your mind are anything but kind
And you can’t believe your Father knows best
I love you just the way that you are
I love the way He’s shaping your heart
Be kind to yourself
Be kind to yourself
How does it end when the war that you’re in
Is just you against you against you
Gotta learn to love, learn to love
Learn to love your enemies too
You can’t expect to be perfect
It’s a fight you’ve gotta forfeit
You belong to me whatever you do
So lay down your weapon, darling
Take a deep breath and believe that I love you
Be kind to yourself
Be kind to yourself”
