Rain or shine He was there. Every Saturday He did the same thing. Out the door and down the little street He went. You knew the next turn He’d make. A neighbor could say: “I know exactly where He’s going. See, I told you! And now watch: He’ll turn left and then hang a right.” And sure enough He did. “How did you know that? Have you been spying on Him,” one asks? “No,” the neighbor says, “you don’t have to be much of a spy to figure it out. I’ve been observing Him over the years and this is His habit – He does the same thing every Saturday. He goes to that building where the Word of God is opened and read.”

We know very little about the life of Jesus between the age of 12 and 30. They’re often called the hidden years of Nazareth. We do get a peek into His life at the age of 12. Luke tells us He lived with Joseph and Mary and submitted Himself to them. We’re also told He advanced through His teen years in all spheres of development. (Luke 2:51-52) We know that He worked as a carpenter. (Mark 6:3) And we know that during those developmental years, He pleased His Heavenly Father. He consistently did the right thing, at the right time, in the right way for the right reason – every time.

One of the ‘right’ things He did consistently was what He did with His Saturdays. Even after He left home and was out on His own, His habit continued. One weekend He returned to His hometown and sure enough, He did what He always did:

What is a habit? A recurrent pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition. Some say that repeating something for 30 days can form a habit for a lifetime. It probably doesn’t take that long to form a bad habit. Bad habits are easier to form. Our sinful flesh craves to repeat something bad.

Can you identify some healthy spiritual habits you have formed over the years with the Lord’s help? Do you have spiritual activities you repeat consistently – deeply engrained activities that you engage in even when you don’t feel like it? They’re so much a part of you, you do them anyway? We all have days when we feel lazy and unfocused but we read our Bibles anyway – whether we feel like reading or not. It’s a good habit! There are days when we ignore our alarm clock and roll over. Then we’re late but we frantically grab our Bible anyway and make sure we read something from the Word of God before we step out into enemy territory. A good habit!

If my parents brought me up to be at every Bible study, rain or shine, exams or no exams, it’s more likely that I will continue on with that habit when I go off to university. But sometimes parents can be slack spiritually and good spiritual habits have not been on display in the home. What then? It’s my turn to get a grip as a believer and establish some positive spiritual routines, repetitions and customs for my own life for the Lord, regardless of my upbringing.

Name five good spiritual habits you would like to establish with God’s help. One final thing – the difference between ourselves and the Lord when it comes to habits is this: His repeated actions were always performed with desire and purpose; there was nothing mindless or mechanical about His habits. But for us, even if some days a good habit is performed mechanically, it’s still good and right to do!