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Develop the Habits That Produce Godliness
By Rick Warren

“It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. As though he saw the invisible God, he refused to turn back.” (Hebrews 11:27 TEV)

Sometimes I don’t feel like being nice to my wife and kids. I don’t feel like doing the unselfish thing. I want to just lie on the couch and watch TV. I don’t want to do one more thing today. I don’t want to handle another problem. But just because I don’t feel like it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.

This will really shock you: Sometimes I don’t feel like praying or reading my Bible. But I do it. I’ve found that if the only time I pray is when I feel like it, the devil makes sure I never feel like it. If the only time I read my Bible is when I feel like it, the devil makes sure I never feel like it. Maturity is when you live your life by your commitments, not by your feelings.

The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people don’t feel like doing. They develop habits. They stay committed. You don’t get to the Olympics because you feel like it. You get to the Olympics by hours and hours of training that you didn’t feel like doing. You don’t get to become a master musician without hours and hours of rehearsal that you probably didn’t feel like doing all the time.

In the same way, you don’t become a godly man or woman by simply doing what you feel like doing. Godly men and women choose to develop the habits that produce godliness in their lives. It’s not any easier than working out or dieting or rehearsing or anything else that may be good for you but you don’t feel like doing.

How do you develop this kind of persistence?

The key is to look not at your problem but at the Lord. Probably the greatest example in the Bible of persistence is Moses. For 40 years, he led a group of crying, squabbling, complaining babies around the desert while they questioned his leadership the entire time. Yet he never gave up.

Hebrews 11:27 says, “It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. As though he saw the invisible God, he refused to turn back.” (TEV) Moses “saw the invisible God.” He kept his eyes on God.

Keep your eyes on God. If you focus on your problem, you’re going to be distressed and depressed. If you focus on God, you’re going to be at rest.

Talk It Over

What is something that you gave up on because it was too hard or required too much time and work?

Why is it often more difficult to do the right thing than the easy thing?

What are some practical ways that you can keep focused on God?