"Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian."
Exodus 3:1
One of the greatest spiritual dangers we face is something psychologists call habituation. When a new stimulus is introduced into our environment we become intensely aware of it. But over time we tend to adapt and awareness fades.
Exodus 3:1
Have you ever looked for your handphone you put in your pant's pocket? What happened? Awareness faded.
When we first moved into the house we are living in right now, every morning we would be disturbed by the noise of cars and chatterring children making their way to school. We were living next to a primary school. Now we hardly hear any such noise! It's not that the school is no longer there. It's that we have become so adapt to the morning noise, awareness has faded.
We adapt to our environment. We get used to certain sounds and smells and sights. I still remember the first time I saw the Singapore Flyer, driving on the East Coast Expressway. I was in awe. But, to be perfectly honest, I hardly even notice it anymore. Why? Habituation.
Here is the danger we face spiritually. Spiritual truths are introduced into our lives. For example, we are challenged to live like we have only 30 days. We keep hearing about the importance of saying it now, showing it now and sharing it now. We become intensely aware of the need to live life with a certain intentionality and to turn every good intention into godly actions.
But the series comes to an end and if we aren't careful, that mighty spiritual awareness starts to fade. We start taking the principles once so precious for granted. We stop thinking about the truths and we start living life from rote memory. Over time, the breakthroughs are gone. Ground gained is lost. Life becomes mechanical. Opportunities feel like obligations. We stop stretching spiritually and we shift into maintenance mode.
I think that is what had happened to Moses in Exodus 3:1. He had a dream of delivering His people from the bondage of slavery. But the dream had faded like an old photograph. It had gathered dust. So forty years later, Moses had adapted to his environment. He was content living out the rest of his days tending sheep for his father-in-law. He had settled for his situation.
How do I know that? Because he says to God, when offered the job of leading the Israelites, Please send someone else. He had no intentions for any more fresh godly actions.
Habituation.
God is calling Moses to lead the greatest rescue operation in history and Moses would rather stay put. God is calling Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt and lead them into the Promise Land. And Moses is content tending sheep for his father-in-law. Instead of living in vision mode, Moses is content living in maintenance mode.
A.W. Tozer said, If we feel that we already are what we ought to be then we will remain what we are.
That's a dangerous place to be spiritually.
I decided since my last Personal Retreat in August last year that every few months I am going to take a short three-week break from preaching. Here's why. I need a season where I'm not standing and preaching. I'm sitting and listening. I need a season where it's not about what God can say through me. It's about what God wants to do in me. I'm not saying that I'm not growing while I'm fully engaged in preaching. There is nothing in the world I love to do more than preaching the Word. But my three-week break after say, preaching through two series, is a chance for me to disengage from my week-in and week-out study and preparations and reengage with God just for myself.
Here's why. To counteract habituation!
I don't want to do ministry from memory. I think it's so easy to learn how and forget why. You just do what you did the day before. You just go through the motions. And if you aren't careful, you lose sight of the Promise Land and become content tending the flock. And you stop living passionately; loving completely; learning humbly and leaving boldly.
