When I was little I loved to play video games. Whenever something didn’t go my way in the video game, there was always a little button that I could press and it would make life so much easier; it was the “reset” button. Earlier this month, the world rung in the New Year. This is a great time of year because everyone is wanting to make changes in their lives. It’s like everyone is hitting the “reset” button. It’s the time of year where people will make New Year’s resolutions and then three weeks later, the resolutions have been forgotten about.
If we’re not careful, our spiritual lives can end up the same way. At the beginning of the year we get so excited to start our “new” lives. We’ve promised to attend more, we’ve promised to participate more, we’ve promised to pray more, sing more, and read more. We start off the year with a strong passion for serving God, but in about three weeks we will be back in the same rut we were before. It’s time we restart our lives. It’s time we start giving more attention to Godly things.
Here are some ways you can start forming some godly habits:
1. Take time to devote yourself in prayer. Most people will say they don’t have time to pray like they want to. Learn to pray while you’re at your desk, in the car (keep your eyes open please), and before meals. If you want, set your alarm for 5 minutes earlier so you can have a few extra minutes to pray before you start your day.
2. Read 10 minutes a day. We are all leading busy lives. Things seem to stack up so fast. But if you can carve out 10 minutes a day to red your scriptures, you will be surprised by how fast you start to grow closer to God. You will find yourself wanting to read more and you might even find yourself wanting to tell other people.
3. Take things one day at a time. Too many times people will get overwhelmed by the task in front of them. When we make a resolution, we want overnight results. And when the results don’t come as fast as we want them to, then we get discouraged and give up. Take it one day at a time. Tell yourself you are going to pray today. Don’t worry about the rest of the week. And when you wake up tomorrow, tell yourself that you need to pray today. Slowly but surely you are building the spiritual building blocks of godly habits.
Not very many people take the time or put in the effort to restart their lives. But for those who do the reward is worth it. Go ahead, hit the “restart” button. Some of you might have already broken your New Year’s resolutions. Don’t worry, you have a “restart” button. “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). God’s already given us a restart, it’s time to start using it.
—Kevin Harrington (adapted)
