I have been muddling along this journey with the Lord for quite some time. And in my most recent season [… probably pushing 2+ years … YIKES! It’s been a long one!😁] There is one phase that has been on repeat and the Lord keeps echoing back in my mind, and it is ‘Do you live a life of CONSISTENCY?’
In this place, the Lord is forever schooling me when I am in my prayer closet PERSISTENTLY asking, seeking and knocking … asking for CHANGE!
His loving and patient response is always very direct and simple, ‘Are you living a life of CONSISTENCY?’ [Don’t you just love it when someone answers your question with a question?!😉😊😂 ] I get this type of response A LOT from the Lord. I think it’s His polite way of redirecting His ‘children’ who continue to ask the same annoying questions over, and over again. And usually, the ones He already gave the answer to.
But back to the word … CONSISTENCY.
Oh, that word! It challenges every fiber of my being!!
In my continued plight of finding some answers to my questions concerning CHANGE, I start to do research in the most basic form. I google up the definition of CONSISTENCY.
Merriam-Webster defines CONSISTANCY as ‘marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity; free from variation or contradiction’ and ‘marked by agreement: Compatible.’
I begin to ask myself … Do I live a life of CONSISTENCY?
Is my life marked by harmony, regularity and free from contradiction? Is my life marked by agreement and compatibility?
These additional adjectives start to stir new thoughts about the deeper meaning of CONSISTENCY that the Lord is challenging me with. New questions begin to arise in my spirit regarding harmony, agreement, and compatibility. I begin to ask myself, ‘do the actions that I take each day line up with and agree with the words that I speak every day?’
For instance … I declare that I desire to get healthy, but nothing that I do each day lines up with and is ‘compatible’ with a healthy lifestyle — ‘why would I ever expect to experience true health?’
Or how about … I say that I desire to have an intimate relationship with the Lord, but I never spend time in prayer or soaking in His presence. ‘Why would I expect to see the favorable and harmonious results of that bond?’
Those thoughts begin to delve into several categories of my life: prayer and intercession, a healthy lifestyle, and my position as a worshipper. Let’s take a closer look at each of those areas.
Consistency in Prayer and Intercession
First, am I living a life of prayer and intercession CONSISTENTLY? Am I experiencing the harmony that was described above? If not, maybe my prayer and intercession routines are not as CONSISTENT as the Lord requires of me.
What is His standard for my life, and yours? We must look to the word for this guidance and direction.
The word of God mandates CONSISTENCY in prayer multiple times.
Scripture tells us to…
‘Rejoice always, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ‘
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
– Romans 12:12 ESV
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER.
– Colossians 4:2 ESV
CONTINUE STEADFASTLY IN PRAYER, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
I am now pondering … ‘Could an INCONSISTENT lifestyle of prayer be responsible for the delayed changes in my life?’ Am I not seeing the changes I have been desiring and asking for very CONSISTENTLY be hindered due to something that I have complete control over?
How quickly the Lord unravels a deeper revelation and key to change in my life by allowing me to see where I can start taking small steps that will lead to the desired changes.
If I maintain a more CONSISTENT lifestyle of prayer and intercession, then just maybe … CHANGE will follow! But more importantly, it will lead to a more intimate relationship with the Lord that is unmatched.
Live a Life of Consistency in Healthy Lifestyle Habits
Next, am I living a lifestyle of health CONSISTENTLY?
I absolutely try to! But some days, just SOME days … the need to soothe my emotional pain results in too much chocolate! Which results in more calories. And then even more regret. I mark that day up as a ‘fail’ in my mind. When I didn’t rely on the true ‘comforter,’ the Holy Spirit, to comfort me through that battle, I allowed the enemy a leg up.
I am responsible to renew my mind daily. And that even means in the arena of my health.
One decision. One bite. One meal. One day at a time.
I take each ‘bad decision,’ and reassess the previous choice. Learn from it. Grow from it. And next time, take the knowledge that I learned, and convert it into ‘healthy’ wisdom [knowledge in action].
Everyday, I am looking for ways to improve for a healthier lifestyle, 1% at a time. CONSISTENTLY!
I will ask myself … ‘What is it that I can do today, AND EVERYDAY, to improve my health?
This choice will not be a fad, or a diet, but a lifestyle. So maybe this choice needs to start really, small. If I can maintain it CONSISTENTLY forever, then it is the most beneficial to my health.
Healthy lifestyle habits that are long enduring, repeated, day-in and day-out, will result in maximum, lasting results for the long term. For instance … you know you need to start exercising. You could probably go to the gym CONSISTENTLY … for about a week! [😂🙋♀️🤦♀️🤷♂️ … been there, done that… more times than I can count!] And then your motivation dies out!
Maybe that’s not a realistic 1% first step. Maybe the realistic first step is to just walk. You can squeeze in 15-minutes after work and before dinner CONSISTENTLY, every single day. And it doesn’t cost you a gym membership fee. Soon, you find yourself more motivated and feeling energized that you are doing this successfully! You decide to increase your walking to 2 times per day. You add an additional 15-minute walk in during your lunch time each day. Now after about a month, you are CONSISTENTLY walking 30-minutes each, and every day.
Did you know that CONSISTENT patterns of daily walking improve your mood, burn calories and maintain a healthy weight and improve your heart health?1
Suddenly, you begin to see CHANGE! You get on the scale, and you’ve lost 5# this month. Wow … where did this come from? You think – ‘I haven’t been doing that much, and it certainly hasn’t been drastic!’ You begin to realize that this 1% change in your routine has birthed a healthier lifestyle that manifested a CHANGE that you have been longing to see.
Live a Life of Consistency in a Position of Worship
Lastly, am I living a life of worship CONSISTENTLY?
Worship is my place of rest. My Selah. My breath. Am I positioning myself in this place CONSISTENTLY?
When I practice acts of obedience to the Lord, I am in a position of worship. Also, when I am a responsible steward of my giftings, time, and resources in accordance with how the Lord has requested, I am in a position of worship. And then when I spend time with the Lord in gratitude and praise, I am living a life of worship. Do I follow through CONSISTENTLY?
This is so important, because obedience breeds obedience. Replicated CONSISTENTLY, it will breed CHANGE. Worship allows me to spend time in His presence, and it becomes ‘healing to my soul.’ We all need this on a regular basis.
Practicing a position of worship CONSISTENTLY allows our spirit man opportunity to reconnect with the Father to hear His inner most thoughts and desires.
Ultimately, practiced worship brings me full circle back to prayer and intercession. Why, you ask? By spending quality time in His presence and seeking His desires for my life, He will show me people and places where I need to sow my prayers and intercession into. The investment opportunities are revealed in this humble and vulnerable space.
In closing … if CHANGE is what you desire, then just maybe you should spend some CONSISTENT time in one or all of these submitted spaces: prayer and intercession, healthy lifestyle, and worship. When we spend the necessary time focusing on the 1% tweeks in these places, positive CHANGES tends to happen organically and naturally. And better yet, this type of CHANGE is long, lasting!
Today, stop and ask the Father – ‘What is my 1% CONSISTENT opportunity to invest into my future for a healthier mind, body, and spirit?’
1https://www.prevention.com/fitness/a20485587/benefits-from-walking-every-day/
We as faith-filled women are called to be EPIC. Please consider joining me today on a quest to discover your most fulfilled life of worship before the Lord!
Connect with me here and I will assist you in discovering your healing, your freedom, your wholeness …
