The same thing over and over again!
Now I understand when someone says they want to get away from it all, what they mean. I didn’t get it when I was a kid. I feel like my own kids may get a little upset when I say I want to get away from this situation in this moment, because I can’t handle it, or may not have the right answer at this very moment.
Routines are good, they help to create a comfortable pattern that both your body and mind can get used to. Wake up at this time, make breakfast at this time, drive to work, or sign on to work at this time. Lunch is at this time, and the best one at the end of the week on Fridays for most people is, “I leave this place at this time. It’s FRIYAY!” But what happens when the routine gets so stuck, or rather, you get stuck in this routine? To the point that when you have dreams, the events all revolve around your routine!
I have heard that if you do something for 30 days, it becomes a habit a routine, in which if you suddenly stop after those days, you miss it. You feel like something is wrong, and more than likely, your perspective of the activity has changed. In some cases, the activity is not that challenging anymore, or you were not so successful at it and may want to revisit this at a later date. Honestly, I am not going into details of most activities we normally set out to do over 30 days. You already know them, exercise, fasting, or some type of course that may be interesting to you at that time.
When putting this together, the Israelites in the wilderness came to mind. They were previously enslaved for many years in Egypt, and God sent Moses to deliver them from this. My favorite video adaptation of this is the cartoon version of the Prince of Egypt, with an amazing soundtrack featuring artists like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. It is back in the 90s but so good! A must-watch! Anyway, Moses leads like an entire continent of people from Egypt to the Promise Land, the place God promised to give to them. For some reasons, the journey was not direct, geographically speaking it would have taken them far less, some historians say a year to a few years, but no! It was 40 years going around in a circle. Going the same way over and over again. In some cases, seeing the landmass go through seasonal changes. Some people died and babies were born, and the Israelites kept at it, the same thing over and over again.
They got sick, they disobeyed God and the teachings that were provided; sidenote, this was when the 10 commandments were given. They forgot their were slaves and forgot the days they cried and begged for freedom, for a savior, for someone to free them from their bondage. They saw many, many miracles too, like crossing a dry sea floor with water like walls being held back by the power of God. Food that is later known as Manna fell from the sky to feed them, and a pillar of fire led them through night’s travel, and they were protected from any attacks along the way. All of this for 40 years, all this time God was there, even when it didn’t seem like that, and some thought it was better to be in Egypt than wherever this place was; a.k.a the wilderness, where there are lions, tigers, and bears! Oh My!
The wilderness or this weird space is not where you might want to be, but it is where you need to be to build character and teach you firsthand to trust God with the many crazy things that happen at times. Who wants to be going in circles all the time! And isn’t that meaning of insanity doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result? The routine builds and equips you for the uncomfortable situation of the mess and madness this world throws at us daily.
The artwork for this article was found on Canva.
Deuteronomy chapter 8 verses 2-4 NLT; “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For all these forty years, your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.”
And that’s what the bible says, not TJ