New Habits 6: Recovery

Because you have spent such intimate time with Him during your 30 Day Fast, you have already jump-started whatever recovery might be needed during this season of your life. As you continue to identify your focus, it may involve rebuilding, repairing and restoring habits that were your strength. Don’t be afraid to go back there! He is with you and He will raise you up again!

Your recovery will spring up quickly … You will rebuild the deserted ruins. You will raise up the age-old foundations. You will be called the repairer of the walls, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell. Isaiah 58: 8, 12

Recovery is not easy. Just ask anyone who has had surgery. The longer you have been down, the longer the recovery will be. After rotator cuff surgery, it took five months before I could play tennis again! There is usually some kind of physical therapy to help get you up and moving. There is also a recovery from addictions, which can be a life-long process of learning to live differently and in a healthier way. Needed spiritual or emotional recovery may be easier to hide, but this recovery takes thinking deeply about yourself, your life and making new habits to support that. 

Most of us don’t like change. It can make us feel insecure, not accepted anymore, victimized, broken, resentful or uncertain. We like our ruts and ruins.

Isaiah is envisioning change for Israel. It has been at least 70 years since its cities collapsed because of war, were abandoned to the whims of its enemies and were deserted. Talk about empty ruins! About 25% of the population, mostly the upper classes and leaders, were exiled to Babylon. Some of those people who stayed and some of those people who were exiled will be those who help Israel’s recovery as a nation, rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall and temple (Nehemiah 2:5). 

Consider your own life and your history. We just finished our 30 Day Fast. What kind of recovery do you feel Holy Spirit tugging at you about? We sometimes put off taking care of ailments, but maybe it’s time to pay attention to something. Is there an addiction, dependence, compulsion or obsession that you need to lay at the feet of Jesus? What needed emotional healing did God expose that might draw you closer to people important in your life? What spiritual wound does He want you to focus on so His healing will continue to draw you closer to God?

These verses in Isaiah can direct us to some different ways of thinking about accomplishing this recovery. Find something that draws your attention and explore that! 

    Rebuild a ruin. Identify an old bone or some old rubble that can be refreshed by His Spirit. Take a new look. You aren’t the same person now. 

    Raise up a foundation. Examine the soil and the base you have laid down before you start building something new. Make sure it can stand strong. 

    Repair a wall. Find the holes and ouchy spots in your life. Make sure they are replaced with new material, not just filled in with old junk.

    Restore a path. Instead of walking around a roadblock, make the path straight. Ask why this is getting in the way. Ask for guidance or expertise. 

Read about your new habit (use an online search) and then write out the new habit He is whispering to you about. Connect it to the strong foundation that He is building in your life. Imagine the building that honors God and the time you spend with Him. Construct a catch phrase to remind you of your new habit.

An ouchy spot for me is my chronic under-active thyroid. My doctor has just recommended going totally gluten-free to allow my thyroid to recover. But this is not just a body-habit I need to adhere to, I see there is also a spiritual habit that He wants me to follow. Not by gutting it out (that never works!), not by cutting out every other thing in my life and hyper-focusing on it (He has other work for me to do!) and not by filling the hole in my diet with easily available junk that is gluten-free but highly processed! Spiritually, I want to see this new habit as a way to honor the body He has given me and glorify Him for His creative touch with the simple, plain and nutritious food that comes from my garden.

It’s so simple, but since I now live alone I have gotten out of the habit of giving thanks before eating. That’s my change! Before consuming the food that I have seen Him provide through the soil, the rain and the miracle of growth, I will give thanks. My catch phrase? I will put my hands together and give thanks for the produce that comes from the work of His hands and mine.

Pray this prayer from Psalms 139:23-24 and write about your new habit: 

Search me, O God, and know my heart. Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any hurtful way in me. Lead me in Your everlasting way. Amen.