Daily devotional, January 18, 2024 Four new habits for a more joyful 2024

“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

They say that habits are formed after six weeks, and if a person wants to develop a new one he has to do it consistently in the next one and a half months. Whether it is daily, bi-weekly, or 3x a week, what is important is that the new habit is done as intended week after week.

This 2024, you may want to try any (or all) of the four new habits suggested in our devotional. These habits could go hand-in-hand with your daily quiet time and prayer, and it could even enrich it.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

So without further ado, here are four new habits you may want to start this 2024:

1. Shower of praise. Start your morning right with your favorite praise and worship music. If you still do not have a Jesus playlist yet, then make one and listen to it in the morning. You can listen to it as you go about your morning routine — showering, getting ready, eating breakfast, and even during your morning drive.

I will never tire of telling moms that blasting praise music in the morning is effective even on young kids. It lessens their crankiness, and yours too! By hearing reminders of the awesomeness of our God, we can never go wrong in wanting to start our day right. 

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” Psalm 95:1-2

2. Promise reminders. Make cue cards or keep a small notebook that contain the Lord’s promises to you. When you encounter a bible passage that spoke to you during your quiet time / bible reading time, write it down in a special cue card and store it in a tin or even a fish bowl that you can access anytime. Or if you like writing in notebooks then do so. Post-its are cool for this purpose too.

If you are the crafty type then by all means use those happy gel pens and metallic mini markers and nice kraft paper. Use stickers, card stock, craft punchers and whatever decorative thing that will make you smile. As for me, I use some of my kids’ smaller artworks for this purpose.

When you feel down, or you need a happiness boost, just fish out one from your cue cards (or read a bunch of them) to remind you of the loving covenant our dear Creator has forged with us. It is like receiving a warm hug from Jesus.

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

3. Faith walk or DWWJ. After lunch, we all have that small window time to take a walk or at least be somewhere quiet. Faith walks or Daily Walks With Jesus is another good habit to build that makes us aware of the divine presence of God in our daily life.

The walk does not need to be far, it could mean a short distance within your neighborhood, or maybe a 10-minute round in your roof deck? Just an area where you can see the horizon and enjoy the breeze. Well if you are the sporty type and you really run in the morning or afternoon, then convert that time to Jogging with Jesus.

During your walk or jog, you can talk to our Lord and Savior in your head much like how you would talk to a dear jogging buddy. No judgements, no holds-barred, just your thoughts. Just the happy and sad details of your day. When you get used to pouring out your thoughts to the Lord, you get to nourish an intimate connection with him. A conversation that is not just centered on your requests and complaints and problems, but a loving talk between you and your Heavenly Father.

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed." Mark 1:35

4. Sheep of gratitude
When I was much younger, my mom told me to count sheep whenever I cannot fall asleep. Sometime ago, I watched this video of an American Neuropsychiatrist who tells his patients that whenever they have trouble sleeping they should try to remember all the things that made them happy that day. According to him, instead of mediating on the bad things that happened to them, or their fears, replaying the big and small things that made them smile that particular day can help them relax their minds.

For us Christians, this could be applied as counting all the blessings we have received for a particular day. From the simplest, like the smell of coffee wafting in the air in the morning, to breakthroughs like getting an answered prayer. When we are grateful, we tend to focus on the goodness of God and not on our own problems. So whether we are having trouble sleeping or not, thanking the Lord at night of everything that has  transpired that day, is a good habit that could help deepen our faith and foster peace in our lives.

"When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." 
Psalm 63:6-8

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Psalm 63 and Psalm 121 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question:  What present habits of yours bring you closer to God? Do you need to develop new habits to nourish a deeper relationship with Him?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to seek you. We hope that we could continue living in your presence all the days of our lives. Amen.