04/11/2023
I can’t tell you how glad I am that Spring has finally sprung. Maybe it’s like this every year, but it sure seemed to take its time. Late February in Indianapolis was a false start as the temperature rose to a record-breaking 71 degrees, only to drop down to a high of 25 degrees mid-March. That’s right, I looked it up.
Up. Down. Up. Down. Warm. Cold. It seemed like an endless cycle…until now.
That up-and-down weather pattern can describe my life and maybe yours too. Spiritually on fire. Spiritually cold. Connecting. Disconnecting. Up. Down. Consistency seems hard to come by these days in a world with so many distractions, derailments, and depressions.
With all our modern-day conveniences and technology, one would think that life would be easier, and we could have more time for developing a consistent walk with God. Too many technology choices, however, actually lead to more distractions and less time spent with God.
Is it possible to develop a more consistent faith in an inconsistent world? I believe it is. Here are a few helpful steps we can take:
1. Be honest. You are normal. We all struggle with the ups and downs of spiritual health. Even the Apostle Paul acknowledged his times of spiritual peaks (2 Corinthians 12:1-4) and spiritual valleys (Romans 7:19). One of the key principles of growth in any area of life is to be honest with where we are in order to set a course on where we hope to be.
2. Start slow. I have a friend who recently celebrated losing some weight. It wasn’t a radical shift in his life, but it was a healthy shift in lifestyle choices that ultimately will lead to radical results. In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about “wins” being slow and steady changes versus becoming an “overnight success.” Incremental change over time leads to sustainable, healthy growth. Winning the lottery sounds fun, but without lifestyle changes, the lottery bailout will dry up, and we will be right back in the same-old financial mess where we were before.
3. Develop a plan…and stick to it. I’m amazed at how many people I talk with who want to have more consistency in their faith and life but don’t have a plan on how to get there. As the old adage goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” There is a reason the Apostle Peter wrote, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control” (2 Peter 1:5b-6a, NIV). Develop a faith-building plan of how to add these qualities of spiritual growth. Write it down. Don’t procrastinate or get caught up in the paralysis of analysis. Put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and write out a daily and weekly plan of incorporating times of reading and studying the Bible, praying, practicing Sabbath, and celebrating with others.
4. Don’t go alone. If you have read even a little of my writings over the years, you have seen this as a constant theme of mine. Maybe this is because I know how I’m prone to wander from this biblical truth. Consistency in personal growth develops over time through consistency in relational growth. With no community, there is limited growth. With increased community, there is exponential growth. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “The eye cannot say to the hand, `I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, `I have no need of you’” (1 Corinthians 12:21, ESV). To develop consistency, develop meaningful friendships.
Yes, indeed, spring has sprung. And now we can spring into some spiritual consistency … one step at a time.
