Has it occurred to you that God wants to do a new thing your life? Some have found that things on which they’ve relied for so long, are not working very well -lately at least. Why would that be? God is trying to get their attention.
It’s not that those things are wrong; they’re just out of place. The things which previously worked well in our relationship with God, can easily turn into mere habit, or develop into a tradition. It can become vain repetition. Without realizing it, it would be easy to trust in methods and habits more than God. It also has the potential to lead one into self-righteousness. How so?
When a person begins to rely on something in order to feel righteous, he starts moving in the direction of self-righteousness. Anytime we equate our action, habit or method of doing things to being righteous, we step outside the righteousness of Jesus. In essence, we move from faith into works. Our faith must remain in God, while trusting in Jesus to be our righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). By the way, a true act of righteousness is Holy Spirit led.
It’s also easy to become formulaic in our approach to faith. For instance, let’s say in one setting we prayed a certain way as led by Holy Spirit, and we saw great results. Now we come into a similar situation, and assume we if pray as we did before, we will experience the same thing. It may very well work, especially if Holy Spirit is still leading; however, it may fall flat if He isn’t. On a side note, merely mimicking others who saw marvelous things happen is not necessarily faith.
Is keeping a specific time each day to spend it alone with God a bad thing? Of course not; unless, you become dependent on it. One sign you are dependent on it, is if you miss the appointed time, you feel less holy as a result. Times of devotion are awesome as long as they’re kept in proper perspective.
Beware of putting God in a box. This is another reason old things fail to produce much fruit. Familiarity can lead to tunnel vision, which includes the inability to see new things. “I’ve always done things this way!”
One other thing to keep in mind is some things are seasonal, or have a shelf-life. God may have us do some things for an intended time or season, but when that time or season ends, they no longer apply. When a new season or time is upon us, those things lose their significance, though they were very significant in their intended period. Bottom line? Stay open and listen.
