While there’s probably nothing wrong with a little alone time, at least for me, pulling back from the Lord’s embrace  is not what I desire to be a natural reaction to life’s difficulties. In the midst of this current season of pain I’m experiencing, God has been helping me see that I can fall back on my “holy habits.” What spiritual routines and habits do I have in place—so rock solid that even when my mind feels emotionless and blank, I can essentially go through the motions? Over the past week, I have gone to church, attended my small group Bible study, been in the Word daily and prayed fervently for my friend and his family. Did I feel like doing any of those things? Not really. But because the Holy Spirit has taken hold of my spiritual development and helped me to build some rock solid habits, I had some new instincts to fall back on. 

For example, I go to church every Sunday. It doesn’t matter if I was up late the night before, if I have out-of-town company staying with me, or if I have an extra ‘event’ on my Sunday schedule. I go to church! It’s not a question. Ever. Literally, EVER. So even if I’m blindsided by worldly pain, if it’s Sunday morning, I’m going to church. Was my heart 100% into it this past Sunday as I was getting ready to head to service? Nope. But did I ever once question whether or not to go? Also nope. 

Another example… I’m so thankful God continues to grow my love and thirst for the Bible. Opening its pages for some minutes each morning before work is something I look forward to and a time block I defend fiercely. It’s a practice and habit that has become unskippable (is that a word?) in my daily routine. So although I didn’t feel my heart yearning for Scripture as much as it usually does over the course of this past week, my body still sat down and opened up my Bible—almost in a somewhat robotic way, to be honest. It followed the routine. My mind and body knew that at 7 a.m., it was time to sit down and do my Bible study lesson for the day, just like every single other day. 

So I’m here to encourage you to be so meticulous and so almost obsessively consistent with your spiritual routines that you can, in a sense, go into autopilot when life hits you in the face. This reminds me of Daniel, who lived in Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came and besieged the city. After his victory, Nebuchadnezzar selected some upstanding young Israelite men to bring into his palace. He wanted to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians as they served in his royal household. Daniel was one of the men selected, and his story is chronicled in the Old Testament book of Daniel. If you’ve never read his book from start to finish, you definitely should! As Daniel and the other selected Israelite men serve the king, they boldly and confidently hold fast to their dedication to the Lord. They face literally life-threatening trials, and God delivers them time and again. 

One little verse in the midst of Daniel’s story reminds me of the importance of building an unshakeable foundation in God, a foundation strengthened and reinforced by consistent spiritual habits and routines. In Daniel 6, the new Babylonian king, Darius, was manipulated into ordering a decree that was a death sentence for anybody who prayed to anyone except him for the next 30 days. The schemers behind this declaration were out to get Daniel, whose exceptional qualities and trustworthy character had put him in a high, enviable position in the kingdom. Can you imagine how Daniel must have felt when he heard about this new decree? Talk about life hitting you in the face. Did Daniel last out in anger? Did he question or doubt God? Did he pull back and isolate himself? No. Daniel did what he’d always done. 

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. -Daniel 6:10, emphasis added

Just as he had done before. There wasn’t any question about where his loyalties lied or what he would do. His holy habits were set in stone. So even when the chaos, confusion and difficulty of life came at him, he had something firm to fall back on. 

What habits do you have in place? What routines in your day-to-day schedule are so firmly set into stone that even the most unexpected life event cannot shake them? When I was hit with my loved one’s recent, sudden death, I went to church, prayed and read my Bible daily—just as I had done before. I didn’t feel like it for a while, and Daniel might not have, either. But I still did it, and God pulled me through to the other side just as I knew He would. I encourage you to take some time to reflect on your own spiritual practices and patterns. Pray about them, and ask the Holy Spirit for help. He will show you, as He continues to show me, how to cement holy habits even further into your life. Pray for so much self-control and discipline that when your life gets hard, you will instinctively continue doing just as you had done before. Let God be the rock solid foundation you fall on. 

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. -Psalm 61:1-2