By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine” (Mike Murdock). Routine. Ugh, right? But not so fast.
Routine, despite how boring it can become, is a necessary ingredient for achievement. Author Harper Lee puts it this way: “To be a serious writer requires discipline that is iron fisted. It’s sitting down and doing it even when you don’t have it in you. Every day. Alone. Without interruption.”
Routine is a key ingredient that leads to success. No athlete likes to do drills, yet the best athletes do them anyway because they understand the long-term benefits.
Dribbling, passing, shooting 100 free throws and 100 jump shots daily. Conditioning, lifting weights, watching what you eat.
They do it because they want to be on the court and in the game. Caught up in the intensity of competition and the roar of the crowd. Play in the Big Game and make the winning shot. But unless they routinely do the drills, they won’t get the chance.
It’s the same on God’s team. Not only must you listen to the Coach, but you must also do the drills. The little things that seem insignificant and can feel boring after a while.
Recall the instructions the Commander of the army of the Lord gave Joshua concerning how to conquer Jericho. He told Joshua to take his armed men and walk around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day.
After the seventh trek on the last day, they were to shout, the walls would collapse and they would conquer the city. Those instructions were… underwhelming. Eyebrow-raising. Head-scratching.
Remember, these people heard their parents tell stories about the 10 plagues in Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. They saw the Jordan River divide just a month earlier.
Surely, they expected an equally dramatic game plan for Jericho: fire from heaven or an earthquake. Something spectacular. Instead, they’re told to walk around the city for seven days.
Imagine what the Israelites might have said on Day Four. “Uh, Josh ol’ boy, are you sure this is what we’re supposed to do? It doesn’t seem to be doing any good. It’s boring and monotonous.
“And the people on the city wall keep laughing at us. We don’t see any connection between walking around Jericho and victory. So why should we keep doing it?” What could Joshua say? “Why, you ask? Because God said to, and that’s the only reason I need.”
You can believe God for something dramatic in your life. Part the Red Sea. Plagues in Egypt. Fire from heaven. Something supernatural, because that’s what he does.
But what are you to do between the promise and the fulfillment? Keep the routine. Do the day-in and day-out drills. Sweat it out in the gym. Walk around Jericho until the walls fall. Pray, give, read your Bible, connect with other believers, love.
If you could draw a spiritual timeline of your life from the day you decided to follow Jesus to today, your favorite parts would be the times you saw God move in mighty ways in your life.
The time he answered that big prayer. The day he set you free from that lifelong addiction you thought would never end. The day a check arrived unexpectedly in the mail right when a bill came due.
The time he healed you from a life-threatening disease. The moment your child walked back in the door after a decades-long absence from God and the family.
Those are by far the favorite parts of your spiritual pilgrimage. But God’s favorite parts are those days and months, even years, he watched you walk by faith.
The times you marched around your Jericho even while you wondered why and if it would do any good. The instances you simply followed God’s Word and did something that made no sense.
Just because you can’t see anything doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Keep walking. Just because, for now, the promise is unfulfilled doesn’t mean it won’t be. Take another lap.
Just because it’s routine and monotonous doesn’t mean it’s pointless. Do it again. God rewards those who stick at it. When the time is right, the walls will fall. Victory will come.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.
