That made me think of the stopping power in our Christian walks. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we simply don’t have the power to turn away from sin. Once that truck begins to roll down the hill, without brakes, it will not come to a stop until it runs into a solid object, or until it has run its course. As the saying goes, something has got to give! Interestingly, when you have a locomotive on a train track pulling 50 cars, it takes just as much power for the engine to pull those cars uphill as it takes for the engine to bring all of those cars to a stop. The key word is momentum!
Can we have momentum in our Christian walks? Certainly! Every aspect of life is habit forming. Sometimes, we focus more on bad habits than good habits. Yet it is not only nicotine, drugs and alcohol that cause addictive responses in us. For example, if you get accustomed to getting up early on Sundays to attend church services, you will miss that service when you don’t attend. Personally, this blog has become a good habit in my walk with the Lord. Helping others also can create repetitious behavior. One of the best habits that we can create is to surround ourselves with godly people:
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
Additionally, the Bible says:
Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
Isaiah 1:17
When we commit our lives to the Lord, He meets us where we are. That doesn’t mean that He perfects us on the spot. Some people demonstrate noticeable about-faces in their lives, while others seem to struggle through the muck and mire. What is the difference? I think it has to do with brokenness. When we truly come to the end of ourselves and see that our way was a complete failure, then and only then are we willing to do it God’s way. Each step forward is a part of that learning curve. God knows us all so well. After all, He made us exactly the way we are! Personally, I learn the best from positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement. When I do something God’s way, it feels good inside!
“Learn to do good.” God realizes that we have lived many years as sinners. Our habits are certainly not in doing it His way. Yet He doesn’t tell us to never make a mistake! If we do something right once, it will become easier the next time. Part of our walk with Him is learning new habits. When we err and do it the old way, He reminds us that was not the way He intended. He reminds us softly at first, but it can get louder or more painful if we ignore Him.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1-2
Following God’s Law is not an unreasonable request. In fact, Paul writes that it is our reasonable service. Behavior changes begin with changes in attitude. It always begins in the mind. Knowing that you are going to need brakes is the first step of stopping! That is the knowledge that we need a Savior in a broken and dying world. The next stage is learning how to apply those brakes, which is learning to rely on the Holy Spirit to power your walk. As you grow in the Lord, don’t be surprised if Satan’s attack gets stronger. The closer to the Lord you walk, the more the evil one will despise you. But even in those difficulties, you can look back and see the number of times the Lord has delivered you in the past. He never will leave you or forsake you, even when you seem to be barreling down the hill without brakes!
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