Consistency. It isn’t exciting or fun, but I truly believe consistency can change your life and relationship with God.
Oftentimes we talk about what we need to change that we forget to value, or even think about, consistency. Growth is always vital, but growth can be achieved through consistency and not just change! In fact, the behaviors you want to grow, you must feed consistently. Do you want to be knowledgeable in God’s Word? You have to be invested in reading His Word every day. Do you want to be healthier? You must make lifestyle, food and movement choices that contribute to your health goals every single day.
. . . the behaviors you want to grow, you must feed consistently.
Church culture today very much feels like we want to have all the benefits of the Kingdom, but without the King. We want all these wonderful things, but we aren’t willing to allow the King to be in control and do the hard work to make those Kingdom wishes a reality in our lives. Why? I believe we view consistency as boring. We often feel like doing something different each day sounds more appealing than doing the same things every single day.
Paul David Tripp from New Morning Mercies:
“Here’s the bottom line, right here, right now, God isn’t so much working to deliver you to your personal definition of happiness. He’s not committed to give you a predictable schedule, happy relationships, or comfortable surroundings. He hasn’t promised you a successful career, a nice place to live, and a community of people who appreciate you. What he’s promised you is HIMSELF and what he brings you is the zeal of his transforming grace. No, he’s not first working on your happiness-he’s committed to your holiness.”
There is power in consistency. Imagine a leaky faucet. No matter how hard you twist the knob, it still drips. One drop at a time, incessantly. It can become an annoyance, at times. However, if you put that dripping water in the right environment and give it enough time, it can have an immense amount of power. That is how canyons are made. Not all at once with one big change, but through the power of consistency.
There is power in consistency.
Dripping, like consistency, isn’t that exciting. However, what it lacks in excitement, it makes up for in effectiveness. How does this apply to us, and specifically, to our spiritual walk and relationship with our Lord? There are so many behaviors that require consistency to grow in our relationship with God. Reading His Word, prayer, service, etc. There are days when you are on fire for those things and there are days, often years, where those things feel so mundane and boring. However, what you want to grow, you must feed!
But, consistency will always win over excitement and here are some reasons why:
1. Consistency emphasizes faith over experience. I get up every single day and do the exact same things. I make my husband’s coffee, pray with him before he leaves for work, make my bone broth, listen to my daily Bible scriptures on my phone, read my actual Bible, prepare homeschool materials for the day, do my workout, and then we begin homeschool. This changes slightly on non-school days or rest days, but my daily practice of reading and praying never changes. Do I always want to get up and do those things? No. I do them because I have consistently done them for so long that I know they add value to my life and give me the energy and focus I need to be who God desires that day.
Your consistency will fuel your dependency on your faith rather than your experiences or emotions.
You could argue that I am simply a creature of habit or highly disciplined, both of those things are true about me. I thrive in discipline, but I have learned to have faith that these behaviors produce fruit in my life-spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. So my actions are driven forward by that faith. My faith that God is going to show up in His Word for me that day, He will answer my prayers, and He will walk with me as I teach my children each day. If I relied only on my experience, I would go into many days defeated because things didn’t go the way I wanted the day before or I just don’t feel like showing up that day. Your consistency will fuel your dependency on your faith rather than your experiences or emotions.
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." I Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
2. Consistency causes roots to grow deep. When you opt for consistency over excitement, you are developing the kind of practices that will carry you through the seasons of spiritual dryness all of us will encounter. In other words, your roots are growing deep.
"And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:4 (ESV)
When we integrate the same, repeated practices into our lives, day after day, we will find that, eventually, when we don’t feel anything; when we are suffering; when we simply can’t pray any more, that our roots will have extended well past the shallows. Our roots dug deep by consistency will carry us through.
3. Consistency works into other areas of our life.
As you become more consistent in your spiritual life, you will likely begin to assess other areas that could benefit from additional consistency. I encourage you to be open to that as you find consistency in your priority areas. Every small choice to be consistent is a step towards growth. Time is a powerful ally. Drip, drip, drip. One drop at a time. And slowly, the landscape changes. And slowly, our lives can change too.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 (EVS)
-Cassandra Criswell
