Same Ole Thing

Routines… If something works, why change it? I think many people would agree with that. As I sit here and think about why people love routine so much, the only thing I could think of (and maybe this is just why I liked them) is that it gives us a sense of control. To me, I feel in control when I know what’s coming. I can prepare, plan and remain successful all because I know what’s next.

Up until this year, my life was a huge routine. Even my spiritual life. Little did I know, God was about to break the whole thing up. You want to know why…because it made me complacent! Let me tell you, even in the area that I had the most confliction, I was complacent. Because it was familiar, I felt in control.

Well, God had come to let me know that I could not remain complacent and that I was NOT in control!

He first started in my spiritual life. I’d had a routine that I followed, and I was good with that. Until one day, he led me to a conference where this lady asked us this one question. “How much time do you actually spend with God, uninterrupted? Like, not talking to him while driving or while doing your makeup or while at church. How much time do you spend alone, uninterrupted, and in his presence?” I’m ashamed of what my answer was then, because like I said, I’d had my routine. To think of carving out more time to spend with God was breaking up that routine. But, God had placed a hunger in my heart, so I decided to give it a try. Well, let me tell you something, when you spend uninterrupted time with God, there is no way you will remain in the same place.  I began to hear God speak and one of the first things he asked me to do was a small group. Now, you know that was going to break up my precious routine. A small group was unexpected, and I had never done one before. I was so nervous. I certainly didn’t feel in control. And that was the point. I had to depend on God. It reminded me that he was in control, not me. This was only the beginning of what God was about to do in my life. As the months rolled by and I thought I was slipping back into a routine, he would break it up by introducing something else. I didn’t always like it because it often took me out of my comfort zone. But God has a plan, he wants to take me somewhere. Even as I sit here and write and think of all the new things in my life, it makes me super uncomfortable to a point where sometimes I want to just stay where I am. It’s comfortable. But this thought came…”how can you expect God take you higher if you’re not willing move?”

Not only has my spiritual routine been busted up, my work routine has also. If you know me, you know that I have struggled with my career for a while. But what many don’t know is that at the top of this year, I was complacent with where I was. Because it was comfortable and something I knew, I was comfortable with staying in the same position until I was old with gray hair. I just thought it would be my life. Well, God knew where my mind was going with that, so he decided to shake some things up in my life. He even asked me to go back to a place I didn’t want to go. I had many voices in my ear, telling me many different things. I felt out of control again. I even almost took things into my own hands. But God kept reminding me of who he was and what he’d said. He said that he was in control and he would work it out. Because I was not in control, I felt so weak…but that was the lesson. God is our strength. I wear Philippians 4:13 on my neck almost every day and it became something that I had to continually remind myself of. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” So, today, even as I am still trying to figure out where my career is going, I know that I cannot become complacent. God won’t let me anyway.

So, I’m not saying routines are bad. I’m just saying, don’t let them allow you to become complacent! Think about that this week. What areas of your life have you let yourself become complacent in because of routine? Ask God to show you how he can take you higher. Just be prepared for his answer…because it will most definitely break up your routine!