Good Habit – God Habit

Just imagine for a moment walking so close to God, and in such sweet fellowship, that God can’t stand being without you for one more minute, and simply takes you home with Him! That’s what happened to Enoch. Twice in the one chapter we read that Enoch walked in habitual fellowship with God.

A habit is a routine of behaviour that’s repeated regularly and tends to occur unconsciously. Old habits are hard to break and new habits are hard to form, because the behavioural patterns we repeat are imprinted in our neural pathways. But research shows it’s possible to form new habits through repetition, although the process of habit formation can be slow. To get to the place where certain behaviour is automatic, or habitual, it needs to be repeated for an average of 66 days. That requires perseverance and commitment.

I remember how difficult it was years ago when I started to prepare for my driver’s licence. I had to really focus and concentrate hard to remember the sequence in which to do all the different things so I could navigate my vehicle successfully without stalling it or bumping into something. Today I drive my car without giving a second thought to my clutch, gears, or brakes. It flows effortlessly and automatically.

Fellowship with God was a habit for Enoch. It was part of his daily routine, and came naturally to him. He didn’t have to concentrate, or focus hard, in order to connect with God, because it was second nature to him and effortless.

Enoch’s great-grandson, Noah, had the same wonderful habit of fellowshipping with God: ‘Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked [in habitual fellowship] with God’ (Genesis 6:9). Because of His close relationship with God, and because of his good habit of keeping company with God, Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8), and he was saved, together with his family, from the flood that destroyed mankind because of wickedness and sin.

Proverbs 3:32 says, ‘For the Lord…takes the upright into his confidence.’ Wouldn’t it be great if God could share some deep and privileged things with you, because He knows your relationship with Him is such that He can take you into His confidence? Psalm 25:14 says, ‘The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them’. This speaks of a very intimate and special relationship with God.

While thinking on this topic of habits, and how Enoch and Noah’s habit of walking in fellowship with God affected their lives, and the lives of their family, I was inspired to push in to God harder than ever – not in a forced, artificial kind of way, but in spirit and in truth. I want my intimacy with God to affect my children and grandchildren. Moreover, I love the thought of God coming every morning to fellowship with me, to have a chat (and maybe a cup of coffee), just because He enjoys my company, and because I love ‘hanging out’ with Him. And then knowing He’s right alongside me the rest of the day! How about you?