One time I read something that said if you want to form a habit, you need to do the same thing for 21 days in a row. Now we all have habits that we have formed years ago or maybe not so long ago, some good and some bad. Most of the time we may not even be aware that we have formed a habit. By human nature, I think we just do the same thing without really thinking about it. We drive the same route to the store, park in the same area, or sit in the same spot when we go to a place we frequent. Basically, we are “creatures of habit.” It is our security knowing ahead of time what to expect and what we will do.
What if we had a God-Habit? What if for 21 days in a row, we gave God 5 minutes at the start of the day, thanking him, praying for those we love, and asking him to bless our day? And what if that new habit changed our life forever?
Matthew 13:31-32 tells us about a parable in which Jesus teaches “the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
God blesses and multiples all our efforts no matter how small and uses them to help us grow in our faith. The key is the perseverance of giving God time each day without fail. If you hit a day where things have not gone well, when you are stressed or overwhelmed, (for life can do that to us sometimes), believe that God is with you. Your efforts from your God-Habit will bring you all the graces you need to get through that day and start again the next day.
That God-Habit can also create a bond and friendship with God that only gets more powerful as time goes on. It helps us to recognize his blessings and to understand his unconditional love for each one of us. As God blesses our God-Habit, we learn to trust him and when the difficulties of life come, you will know he is walking it with you. God will begin to teach you all kinds of things about life with him, and as your habit unites with the God-Habits of others, our world will become a better place for all of us.
Start today to create your God-Habit even if it is for only those 5 minutes a day. Watch what God will do with that mustard seed of your time and be excited to see how it grows!
Copyright © 2024 Marsha Luke – Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted: May be copied in its entirety, but neither retyped nor edited.