What are some routines that you have? Do you have a certain way that you brush your teeth, brush your hair, drive to work or school, scramble your eggs, chop onions, etc.? I find a lot of value in routines because they allow me to do regular activities without exerting loads of mental engagement. Some things don’t need high quality mental exertion, full stop.
However, there are important things that need whole-hearted attention and involvement. I’m writing about this because my intimacy with God is very important to me and it’s something that I want to give my whole-hearted involvement. Consequently, I endeavor to keep this in the high-quality attention zone rather than the mindless repetition of routines and ruts.
In thinking about this, my daily fellowship with God definitely has some structure and regular things that I do, such as reading something in the Old Testament, some Psalms and something in the Gospels. I also do journaling which includes thanking God for various things from the preceding day and some writing anchored in the verbs about the Holy Spirit from Romans 8.
I’ve used this general “plan” every day for several years and it’s been a great anchor for deepening my intimacy with God. Of late, however, I have some concerns that it’s becoming rote and routine, maybe getting close to being stale and lifeless. This is concerning to me because it’s my goal that my daily fellowship with God is an essential anchor for steady intimacy and connection with Him.
I don’t want to just go through the motions of checking a box each day for a quiet time with God and then move on with my daily activities. My purpose in having daily fellowship with God is to be intimate and relational, such that God is the hub around which my life revolves. So if my daily fellowship with God slides into a mindless routine, then I need to reflect, recalibrate and adjust so that my intimacy with God doesn’t get stale and lifeless. At the same time, I’m aware that intimacy is a two-way connection and I’m also asking God to help me, as I know that our Triune God is inherently relational.
In thinking about our fellowship with God, let’s be careful to avoid some potholes and pit falls that can be common detractors from living in deep intimacy with God:
- Fellowship to get something: this is when we treat God like a Fix All and we make the James 4:3 mistake. This verse says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
- Religious routines substitute for relational intimacy: this is the Isaiah 29:13 mistake. In this verse, Isaiah says, “Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.’”
What are some practices that help you to keep your relationship with God vibrant and intimate? What helps you to avoid letting your intimacy with God slip into a mundane rut or mindless routine? At the end of the day, let’s keep our fellowship with God as the life-giving hub in our daily living!
