An Insight from the Bible -The Value and Challenge of Routine!

Recently I heard Jill Briscoe speaking on Premier Christian Radio about how, in and through, times of challenge and periods of stability the place of routine can be very helpful to aid restoration and to ground us in our successes.

Thanks to Peggy – pixabay.com

What is Routine?

For a moment it might be helpful to consider what the meaning of routine might be and how that impacts upon our lifestyle and particular outcomes.

Routine represents in a measure that which is normal for us on a day to day basis. In hospital when facing a daunting operation we are told it is a normal procedure and so not to worry ourselves about it.

We have certain good and bad habits that we automatically fall into and can find hard to change when required to do so.

In work and in life there are certain procedures we must follow so as not to offend or get into trouble and hopefully play a vital and important role in the work place and as a citizen within society.

There are certain ways in life to follow both on a footpath and during a car journey. If we seek to digress then we might find ourselves in a dead end path or dark roadway.

There are certain customs we must follow at home and abroad alongside certain methods and systems to ensure that appliances and required protocols are followed to ensure things work correctly.

If we do not follow some form of order as individuals and a society then life can easily become chaotic.

Christian Routine

For a Christian it is important to maintain some form of routine in our Christian discipleship that can include:

Worship

So often these days when we awake, the first thing we may do is to turn the radio or TV on or look at our phones to see who has or hasn’t contacted us for whatever reason.

However, as an early act of worship it is a good routine to turn to God’s word, to listen to Christian worship or just spend a moment of silence or quietly contemplate upon the Lord and all his goodness and mercy towards us.

In the book of Lamentations 3: 22-24 , we read that new every morning is God’s love towards us that enables us to rise up in worship, with hope and thanksgiving for whatever we may encounter each and every day.

“The Lord is my portion and therefore I will wait for him”.

Prayer

Here we can pose a question: when is the best time to have our quiet times with the Lord? Some say early in the morning, some practise at the end of each day.

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The most important thing is that we have a routine of meeting with the Lord, so as to be strengthened and enabled in his presence. David meet with the Lord early in the morning as found in Psalm 5.

Daniel faced all manner of opposition and trials but continued his practice of praying formally at least three times a day and he was prosecuted for it, which took him right into the Lion’s Den where the Angel of the Lord protected him (Daniel 6).                                                                                                                  

Spirit Filled Life

Recently in the routine of the prayer book and church liturgy we have celebrated Easter, Ascension and Pentecost and the availability of the Holy Spirit to reside in all believers as a representation of Jesus being physically present with his disciples.

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The Apostle Paul encourages us in Ephesians 5: 18 not to partake of God’s spirit only once but every day to ‘Go on, Continue, Keep on and be filled by the Holy Spirit’.

Salt and Light

In 2014 I visited the Holy Land on a Pilgrimage and after visiting Jerusalem and other Biblical places, as a group, we stayed for a while at Tiberius. One evening I remember very clearly after the sun had set and looking towards the hills of Capernaum I saw a light on the hill and it reminded me of the words of Jesus following his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 (You are the salt of the earth – You are the light of the world). 

Thanks to Eye Em freepik.com

Our new Prime Minister in the UK, Sir Kier Stammer, interestingly has used the term service in many of his opening remarks about how he wants his government and our country to act and that compares to others who want to be served unto.

Our Christian service and routine can be seen as being a salt and a light in some very unsavoury and dark places. In the name of Christ we endeavour to act, speak and express ourselves in a very different manner as Jesus outlined.

So think about what is involved in maintaining a Christian routine. Remember that if we don’t keep our Christian routines then other routines will take their place and affect how we think and act.

Routine and Recovery

In Psalm 143 we hear the expressions of David about his fears and concerns and how in them all, he choose to place his faith and trust in God (verse 8).

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In Proverbs 22 it outlines the importance of having a good name. We are all under the protection of God and to fear/reverence God brings his favour and protection upon us.

It is important to train our children in the way they should go (verse 6) that will produce good routines for them to follow that will help them as they mature and grow in God’s grace and goodness.

When we are going though times of distress: body, mind and spirit the simple routines of praying first thing in the morning after the routine of making a cup of tea, coffee or drinking water can be as an anchor for us in the storms of life.

The environment we live and work in will have its own seasons and routines. We may have disturbed them but we can try to restore and reorder them.

In all of our relationships and activities over the years we may have caused trouble by default or design. Yet through forgiveness, love, humility and acceptance we can return to some normal routines that restores to us peace and harmony and a measure of normality in all our life situations?

Thanks to Peggy – pixabay.com

So in conclusion take stock and think about those areas in your life where you are chained to unhealthy routines and need to be released? Seek to revisit them and restore and strengthened them for better routines for today and tomorrow?  

Selah: (Pause to think calmly on what has just been read) and check out A Time to Worship

Graham