The Habit of Having No Habits: Oswald Chambers

I love Oswald Chambers' wisdom. So often, the Lord uses Chambers' words to speak to the very place my heart is at or the situation i find myself in. Here is yesterday's (May 12) My Utmost entry:

The Habit of Having No Habits

"If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful..." (2 Peter 1:8)

When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Our spiritual life continually causes us to focus our attention inwardly for the determined purpose of self-examination, because each of us has some qualities we have not yet added to our lives.
Your god may be your little Christian habit - the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what your habit symbolizes. We say, "I can't do that right now; this is my time alone with God." No, this is your time alone with your habit. There is a quality that is still lacking in you. Identify your shortcomings and then look for opportunities to work into your life that missing quality.
Love means that there are no visible habits - that your habits are so immersed in the Lord that you practice them without realizing it. If you are consciously aware of your own holiness, you place limitations on yourself from doing certain things - things God is not restricting you from at all. This means there is a missing quality that needs to be added to your life. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there someplace where you are not at home with God? Then allow God to work through whatever that particular circumstance may be until you increase in Him, adding His qualities. Your life will then become the simple life of a child.
-Oswald Chambers

Lord, break any habits that we have established, either consciously or unconsciously, that keep us from knowing You in all areas of our life. Keep us from worshipping the habits and let our hearts worship You and You alone. May we be immersed in You, so lost in Your infinite and mighty being that we are not aware of ourselves. Instead of hoping to gain spiritual pride, i ask that our time with You humble us further. I ask that as we spend more time with You, we become more aware of our shortcomings and our dire need for You.

My Utmost online: http://www.utmost.org/