What Are Your Routines?
Do you have things that you do every day, like brushing your teeth, wearing deodorant, changing clothes, making coffee / tea, etc.? It’s important to look at what we do or don’t do every day because such routines will predict our future in these respective areas. For example, for many years, I didn’t have the routine of flossing my teeth consistently. As a result, my dental hygienist would spend lots of time at each cleaning scraping my teeth, my gums would bleed, and I never enjoyed these appointments. As I’ve begun to integrate consistent flossing into my daily habits, my dental appointments have been lots quicker and significantly less painful.
There’s much to be said for routine – doing things daily to have desirable results over a long period of time. There are plenty of examples in the Bible of people being steady with daily disciplines that facilitated long-term, desirable results. Herding sheep would be a good example of being consistent with daily practices pertaining to sheep that make for desirable long-term results. The same would be true for cultivating vineyards, raising children and developing an increasingly intimate relationship with God.
When I was younger, I didn’t value small daily routines for what they could facilitate for long-term benefits and outcomes. There were more than a few occasions when I wanted quick fixes and fast results, so I would often look for shortcuts and ways to get desired results without daily efforts. As I’ve aged, I’m coming to value the daily inputs that lead to very rich and deeply satisfying results. Not only do I like the external results that come from such steady effort, but I also like what happens in me.
The best and most highly treasured result of one of my daily routines is my fellowship with God every day. This discipline goes like this: I get up early, make coffee and settle into my comfy chair. I pull on some blankets, get out my journal and a good pen, find my placeholder in the Old Testament and slowly read whatever book I’ve chosen to digest for a few months. My goal in my Bible reading is to be present with God and grow in intimacy, so my reading tends to be slow and reflective. I also keep my journal handy to write a verse that might feel sticky to my soul. I also take some time in my journal to thank God for the good things from the preceding day, along with taking some moments to consider that God loves me.
This daily routine has been very powerful to me – grounding me in growing intimacy and connection with God. This is what I’ve done every day (with some tweaks here and there) for almost twenty years. I’m not writing that to brag, but rather to express that such a daily practice can lead to very rich and intimate fellowship with God.
In thinking about growing in intimacy with God, what have you found to be helpful in terms of some daily routines? Let’s be committed to cultivating a vibrant relationship with God.