DAY 6: Handling Habits

Scripture: Mark 9:17-26

Key Verses: 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.”

Spiritual B3

Who are the they in verse 20? I can’t imagine that father who loved his son enough to seek out Jesus for his healing would leave that same son with strangers in a crowd.

I suffered, and often suffer in silence until the storm has passed. We all wrestle with the fear of being dramatic or a burden on people. But if God has blessed you with people who care, when appropriate, we should reach out in an act of appreciation to God for placing them in our lives. Although the father was pleading the case, I believe the boy had some allies in the crowd. I believe God always has some allies in the crowd to help us make it through and back to Jesus.

The second revelation was also about a habit. The boy had developed a self-destructive habit of often throwing himself into the fire and the water. I had to sit still for a moment and began to evaluate my own self-destructive habits, like my lifestyle and schedule, which made me more vulnerable to what I was going through. In order to begin addressing my self-destructive habits, I had to first learn to identify the triggers. For every habit there is a trigger that sets that habit in motion. Find the trigger, find the difference maker in your habits.

Finally, when the allies in the crowd brought the boy to Jesus, immediately the spirit erupts within the boy. That makes sense, because even today the name of Jesus spoken in belief commands a response from anything that would work against you. That immediate response means that Jesus was a trigger for that evil spirit. I began to see it, the closer Jesus got, the worse the spirit became, until the next thing you know it was all over. I learned when things get their worse, it’s because Jesus is on the scene and next thing you know, healing, deliverance, relief, liberation, and blessings are about to come! That gave me strength I needed to hang in there, because I was reminded that weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning!

CPR Kit for the Soul:

• Centering Theme: Take a moment and slow down long enough to meditate on the habits you like, and the habits you don’t like. As you meditate start thinking about what triggers those habits.
  
• Prayer Topic: Revelation about the circumstances that produce those triggers.
  
• Reflection Thought: You are not in this alone, be still and meditate on who are your allies in the crowd?

T3 Prayer Booster:

• Dear Lord, thank You for the allies in the crowd, please give me the discernment to know the difference between my allies and everyone else . . .
  
• Lord, please help me to spend the time identifying the circumstances that produce my triggers. It is only when I am intentional about identifying the triggers, that I am intentional about seeing the solutions . . .
  
• Father God, please give me strength and endurance; now that I know the closer Jesus is the worse it may get, but I praise You, because that also means that I’m closer to my breakthrough…