We, as humans, are creatures of habit. And I’m sure you have heard that sentiment before. But I don’t think we realize how true it really is. We don’t tend to think about the things that we don’t think about. We don’t think about the sun rising, it just does. We don’t think about our stomachs getting hungry, they just do. And more often than not, I don’t think about how often I hear sermons or messages, I just do.
One thing that God has been teaching me is that I have taken His Word for granted for too long. I grew up going to church. I went to a school that had chapel multiple times a week. I went to a college that had chapel and bible classes every day. I became used to hearing about God, and that was fine with me.
It became a check off on my “list.” And when no one was looking at my “list,” I would check it off, even if I hadn’t gone to church or chapel. I was more focused on my responsibility to be present than actually being present. There are multiple reasons that I struggled to want to go to church every Sunday and Wednesday, but they all boiled down to one major flaw in my life. I did not treasure my God and Savior.
Instead of longing and thirsting to learn more about Him, I assumed that over time, I would just learn all the things there were to know. But when you don’t have people placing the obligation to go to church on you. When you don’t have friends constantly asking you what God is teaching you, you lose the sense of responsibility altogether.
God showed me this past year that I was not obligated to attend church or read my Bible, but His desire for me was to desire to attend church, read my Bible, build community and friendships with other believers, to desire to serve Him. When the ability to serve was no longer a convenience, I had to choose to serve.
Christ has become convenient for me. I “found” Him everywhere. But was I actually looking, no.
Now I am challenged every day to seek after Christ. I found a church and community that offered more opportunities than I ever knew I needed. I forgot that it was something I was supposed to do. It became something that I wanted to do. Something I realized that I actually needed to do. I am challenged to dig deeper into passages that I read. To seek to understand what God’s Word is teaching me. I am challenged to really know God. To seek Him, instead of just having Him around.
It is no longer convenient for me. It is something that I instead, need to look for every day.
clutter to can 