Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:6

It sounds so simple. But changing a lifetime of habit takes time and effort. Changing a habit requires the will to overwrite it with a new habit and prayer for the strength to implement it.

It's easy to fall into familiar patterns, but they are a maze in which we get lost, leading farther and farther away from the person we want to be in Christ Jesus.

What I struggle with the most is that I switch off from my spiritual self that is connected to God through the Holy Spirit and by the power of Christ Jesus when I get into the nitty-gritty stuff of my day.

I don't do it on purpose or even realize I'm doing it most of the time. I get so focused on my tasks that I zone out, shutting out everything and everyone around me, including God. It's a hard habit to break. It takes thought and purposeful decisions to change something so ingrained.

The biggest mistake I make is trying to change too many things at the same time instead of focusing on changing one thing at a time and ingraining that one habit.

It doesn't help that when we purposefully decide to change that, the world throws stuff at us: distractions meant to draw us away from what we're trying to do by keeping us so busy we don't have time for it.

It's hard to choose to put one thing above all else. We've been ingrained with a sense of responsibility toward the wrong thing. The thing is, when we put God first, everything else falls in place.

When we put the world first, and God has to fall in place, everything overwhelms us and wears us down.

The math of it is so easy. 1 human plus God equals (everything falls into place. 1 human plus the world equals (everything falls out of place eventually.) It shouldn't even be a decision.

And yet.

For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 19-20

We were born to resist our sinful nature, but we cannot do it without God. If you keep the connection with Jesus open through the Holy Spirit, our sinful nature is kept in check in the presence of our Lord. But when we shut the door, there is nothing to keep our sinful nature in check. We are vulnerable and open to attack. When you open the connection and invite Jesus in, everything changes.

When the Holy Spirit and the power of God are allowed into the private, vulnerable space of our souls, we are no longer vulnerable to the world. We are protected. We are only vulnerable within the presence of our God, and it is safe to be vulnerable with Him. For in our weakness, we find our strength in Him. Our God is our rock and protector, our wisdom and strength. He is everything to us, and we are his beloved children.

It's a mind shift, but one we have to do countless times a day.

Dear God, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, help me not to shut off from the Holy Spirit and your presence when I get busy with the things of life. Help me to hold onto You and to keep the connection to you open. Help me walk with You and not get lost in the details of the day. Help me invite You into the details of my day. Help me ask Your advice and Your blessing over all that I do so that I may walk within Your will for me. Your will be done, Lord Jesus.