I am having a bad week financially. In the past, that would be a perfect excuse to slip into bad behavior. But today I am working on habits that are changing my mind despite the fact that my physical situation is staying the same. #1 I am going to war with sin.
James 4:7 ESV Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Today I wrote out 6 new verses for one of my secondary habits that I am currently working on. From now on: Every day that I read those verses, I will be resisting the devil. At some point our resistance is enough, then the devil flees from us.
#2 I am forming new habits. I have prayers that I am making into habits. Prayers like:
“Father, You are my provider.”
“Father, You are my pleasure.”
Second, people think Biblical Paul just automatically was ready to praise the Lord and sing when he was in prison. Wrong! He developed those habits while he was free. While free, the joy of the Lord came upon him. When he was imprisoned, he had the option to mope or to stay in the joy of the Lord. He chose to stay in joy.
Third, the Bible talks about the glory of God. The more Paul invested in the fruits of the Spirit, the more the glory of God descended upon him.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
I am sure Paul studied and prayed over the fruits of the Spirit 10 times as much as I have. Maybe 50 times as much. Today, consider writing out the fruits of the Spirit, and praying over each one for one minute.
How much time will satan spend tempting a person who is extremely busy working on forming new habits?
Satan is an efficiency expert. He tempts people who are fiddling with sin, who are bored, and who have no goals the most.
#1 He spends minimal time tempting people who are obsessed with forming great habits. #2 He hates listening to people praise the Lord. He won’t stick around long if you do that. #3 He hates listening to people pray over the fruits of the Spirit. He knows that the fruits of the Spirit will give you greater power to go to war with your habit and with sin.
What great habits will you focus on?