We are all guilty of going through the motions. It is a convenience to go down the same path every day without veering off track. We are comfortable with the same road because we have a good idea of what our outcome will be. It is hard to get out of the mindset of going through the motions. Sometimes we have trained ourselves into thinking that things are always going to be the way they are.
Hope has a lot to do with breaking the cycle of going through the motions. When we lose hope, we create a situation where we feel like there is no other way out. By not knowing Jesus, we create an environment in our life where we feel alone. You create a false reality of hopelessness. Satan has tricked you into thinking that you must continue to do the same thing day after day expecting different results. That my friends is what we call the definition of insanity. Without Jesus, it is easy to get caught in this cycle of despair.
Getting our lives together
As Christians, you would think we would have our lives together. Wrong. We have the same struggles as unbelievers when it comes to going through the motions. Once we become saved, it is easy to fall into the mindset of slow and steady. What happens is that instead of growing a relationship with Jesus, we try to maintain the bare minimum. I too have caught myself failing in this area. Becoming content with just knowing who Jesus is, is easy. We get our lives to the point where Christianity and our walk with Jesus takes a back burner to our daily lives. Little by little, we minimize our relationship with Jesus. Before you know it, Jesus only consumes a small part of our day.
We leave Jesus out of everything in our life. We still find time to pray, but it usually happens when we want something from him. Our praises become few, and far between and our demands take control. We give up on daily scripture reading because our children or our job consumes our life. Our life is so hectic because we make it that way. The devil loves to get us going so many directions that we lose focus on what the main thing is. The main thing in our lives needs to be God.
Galatians 2:20 NASB “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Breaking the cycle of going through the motions as a Christian.
How I broke the cycle of going through the motions was two-fold. I was a workaholic; I am sure that a lot of you can relate. Owning my own business, always gave me something to do. No matter how many hours you put in a day, your job is never done. My wife stayed at home with our three young children. Consistently consuming her life with everything a mom does. Her job as a mom is 24/7, and you never get a break.
When my wife had surgery last year and almost died, it put things into perspective. I ended up staying at home for nearly a month while my wife was confined to a wheelchair. The routine surgery left her unable to walk and barely move at all. Instead of being the business owner, I became the stay at home dad. I had to give up my business obligations for an extended period to help my wife and take care of our children. If your wife is a stay at home mom, you don't have any idea what she does until you have to do it all yourself. Don't take her for granted and do not undervalue her importance to your relationship.
This event triggered something inside of me. It was almost like a reset if you know what I mean. After examining my life, I saw where I was failing in a lot of areas. I was not the best husband I could be and was not the best father that I could be. Something had to change as I did not like the path I was heading down.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Breaking the cycle in my life.
After a year with a lot of ups and downs, I felt like there was a significant change in my life. Through my walk with Jesus, I improved my life. I prayed more, and I read scripture more. Everything in my life changed as well. Stresses that bothered me for years were finally removed from my life. It is almost like God took the blinders off.
The second thing that impacted my life was starting this blog. God had made massive changes in my life, and I wanted to share that with others. I started to become more engaged in the scriptures. This blog forces me to dig into the scriptures daily and create my very own personal Bible study for myself. I have been dedicated to this blog for the past couple months because I want to learn how to better myself more. This blog is my way of searching the Bible for answers for things that are going on in my life.
Call to God
Most importantly, this blog is to help you out as well. I felt a calling to help others the way that God blessed my life over the past year. Sharing with you on this blog, things that helped me out as well as my experiences with things that didn't turn out too well. I am a pretty blunt person by nature, and I feel that this is what our world needs right now. No more sugar coated messages. I want to speak the truth in a bold way. I am done with going through the motions in life, and I hope you are as well.
My prayer for you is that you will find the same relationship that I have found with Jesus over the last year. It is something that will change your life forever. Don't lose hope, break the chains and let God create a new path in your life.
Romans 12:2 NASB “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”