Holy Habits

Well, ladies, God has provided in His own perfectly timed way, new devotional series for us here at Extravagant Grace. It is entitled Holy Habits, based on a message I shared with a precious group of women striving alongside us to move from Coping Habits into the holy life God has called us to. It is a relevant message, as we continue to seek the Lord together, knowing that only He can change us from the inside out.

Before beginning this series, I want to share with you an excerpt of the message:

Digging out of the past set me free to walk uprightly toward the future. As I uncovered the reasons behind why I react the way I do in certain situations, I came upon the tools to change my behavior. The journey became about turning to Scripture, looking for God to reveal His truth personally in a way that transforms my thinking and reaction to every situation.

Getting well is not a quick fix. It takes time to undo years of bad habits and wrong thinking. My instinct is to still react horribly instead of peacefully, but I’ve put some red flags and action steps into place in order to transform my Coping Habits into Holy Habits.

Coping Habits are the personal defenses that we draw on when we are hurting or afraid. It is like the toddler with her nuk or blanky--coping habits bring temporary comfort and security, but will not satisfy long term. Unfortunately, our adult coping habits are often painful, not only to ourselves but also to others. We become filled with anger, rage, and the ability to inflict wounds with words, all because we're afraid of getting hurt! We run to food, shopping, drugs, or cigarettes to satisfy the emptiness in our soul. We search for approval, affirmation, and affection from all the wrong people, instead of turning to the One and Only source of satisfaction. These are our Coping Habits—the things we do when life starts spinning too fast and we can’t get a hold of the wheel to slow it down.

There is another way of living, but it takes practice. We need to put on Holy Habits, through the power and authority Christ, by practicing the disciplines of our faith. It takes intentionality and time to form Holy Habits, but the result will be a transformation in our beliefs, attitudes, and actions so that they line up with the Scriptures and define our response to life’s curve balls.

Developing Holy Habits is a two-step process. The first step is practicing the disciplines of the faith. The second step is putting those disciplines into action. The motivation is to understand the character of God and to walk away secure in our identity in Christ.


Acquiring Holy Habits through Practicing the Disciplines of the Faith

1. SCRIPTURE: Study Scripture every day. Read the Word for understanding and application. Memorize verses and soak in the Word at all opportunities. This is what the Holy Spirit will draw on to transform your thought life and enable you to believe God’s first and foremost (John 14:26). Scripture will also reveal to you the character of God and your identity in Christ. Both are essential for Holy Habits.

2. PRAYER: Through prayer, you bring all your concerns to the Lord. As you practice this discipline in a quiet time each day, even through journaling your prayers, you begin the habit of talking to God about everything. It will become second nature to turn to Him first, instead of your Coping Habits.

3. FELLOWSHIP: Through spending time with other Believers, you will be encouraged and challenged in your faith. Together, in healthy relationships, you can practice the disciplines of the faith and hold each other accountability when you see one another slipping into coping habits. This level of intimacy takes time and courage to be vulnerable. Stick with it and allow God to use His body as He intended.

4. GO: The Christian life is a combination of being still and following Christ. Yes, we must still ourselves before God and allow Him to speak truth into our hearts. But He also calls us to go out into the world and share the Good News, to care for the poor, sick, widows, orphans. We can get so self-centered, consumed with our problems, that we forget the Biblical call to meet the needs of others. Go doesn’t mean pick up and move. It means to reach out and care. Chances are, the person sitting next to you is who God intends for you to “go” to!

Practice Holy Habits instead of Coping Habits

Even though we may invest time and focus in preparing our lives before the Lord for the work He intends to do with us, it can all blow up in our face if we don’t practice it in the midst of a crisis. Learning how to do so is so hard, when we have years of Coping Habits competing with our Holy Habits. The best way I’ve find to overcome in Christ is to do exactly as Scripture declares. As 1 Peter 113-25 NIV

Be Holy

13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."


Taking the truth of this Scripture, I picture the process of becoming holy as a daily movement through Simon Says...God's way. Start like this…

Thoughts (in our heads)
What are we saying to ourselves?
-> Take captive every thought and make it obedient unto Christ

2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Love (in our hearts)
Have we accepted God’s love? What are we doing to share God’s love?
-> Remain in God’s love and love as Christ loves us

John 15:9
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

Beliefs (taking the Word and applying it to our hearts and minds)
Do we believe God’s word?
->Make the Word of God your source of truth

Psalm 25:4-5
Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (Also see: 2 Tim 3:16-17, 1 Peter 2:2)

Sacrifice (getting on our knees before the throne of God)
Have we bowed before the throne of God in every area of our lives?
->Offer yourselves as Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Follow (with our feet)
Are we following Jesus or are we distracted by something/someone else?
->Follow Jesus, serving Him by serving others.

John 12:26
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

God does not bring us into this world so that we can make a mess of our lives and cause chaos in our circumstances. When He breathes life into our bodies – from the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb – we are set on a course to worship our God and to give Him glory. Along the way, we stumble, fall, and lay down in some pretty ugly pits. But God is standing there, with His right arm extended, ready to pull us out and place us on level ground—a rock, as a matter of fact. It is on Christ, the Solid Rock, in which we stand, that we can overcome and find great hope. His death on the cross paid the price for our sin once and for all. There is nothing that He can’t handle—nothing He won’t carry for us, if only we would empty our baggage as the Cross and be washed clean by His redeeming blood. It is a daily process, as our flesh continues to wage war against our spirit. Our responsibility as believers is not to do the overcoming, but to live out the practice of Holy Habits. As we commit our ways unto the Lord, study His Word, respond to the Scriptures with an obedient heart, He will overcome all things for us and for His glory.

Hebrews 12:20-21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I hope you'll jump on board this devotional series and soak in the Word with me as we look at Scriptures intended to transform our coping habits into holy ones. Come back each Monday for a new devotion!

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