Habits of a Healthy Heart #5- The Grit to Not Quit

Matthew 17:20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” NLT

We understand that small actions, repeated consistently, can add up to significant change. These can be good or bad, and lead to good or bad results.

Small, faithful actions can add up to significant life change:

Eat healthy and work out regularly- strong, healthy body

Repeated texts/phone calls/time- strong friendships

There is a place for grit in the Christian life (“I worked hard”), but it is preceded by and enabled by gift (“It was the grace of God”). Therefore all grit is living by faith in future grace.

John Piper

Consistent saving and good financial choices- healthy emergency fund

Finishing one assignment at a time, one class at a time- diploma or degree

Being faithful in the little things really is a big deal; those small habits stack up.

The small, faithful actions can make a consistent difference on those around us.

- Based on ideas from messages by Craig Groschel and books:

o Power of Habits- Charles Duhigg

o Compound Effect- Darren Hardy

o Atomic Habits- James Clear

- Many of us look at a new year with either excitement or trepidation. We make goals

- None of us look at the new year and think, “I’m shooting for merely average, maybe a little below.” No coaches say they want to end season in middle of pack.

- “Vince Lombardi was a Hall of Fame football coach, an NFL executive and the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960’s. He led the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships in a seven year span. His namesake, The Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the winner of The Super Bowl each year. At the start of training camp in 1961, Vince Lombardi walked into the locker room of the Green Bay Packers and said to his team what would become one of the most iconic quotes in sports history… “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

- He knew that to master more involved habits or techniques, we must master the basics.

- To have a successful year, a successful spiritual life, relationship, etc, we must work on basics. Little changes over time add up to be changes.

- “Successful people do consistently what other people do occasionally.” Craig Groschel

- Sean Covey says, “Our habits will make or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.”

I. We focus on the what but we don’t understand the how.

a. Most of us want to be spiritually, physically and emotionally healthy.

i. We all want our bodies to work right. We all want good relationships.

ii. People don’t just decide to destroy their lives. Alienate their friends. Distance themselves from God.

b. To reach our goals, we must work on healthy habits.

i. James Clear, in Atomic Habits, says that goals don’t determine success, systems (habits) determine success.

ii. If we want to have a healthy spiritual life, marriage, friendship, body, etc, we must have healthy habits.

iii. “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” James Clear, Atomic Habits.

iv. This doesn’t sound super spiritual, but let’s take a look at Scripture:

1. Jesus got alone to pray.

2. The NT church met regularly to pray and worship and fellowship.

a. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES THE CHURCH GIVES!

c. Healthy habits create a system of growth.

i. Daniel prayed three times a day, creating a system of growth and strength.

ii. He pre-decided what he was going to do, no matter what was going on.

iii. When we make decision to put healthy habits into place, it helps us go through difficulties.

iv. If we put healthy habits into place, we will eventually get the outcomes we desire.

v. Put the clothes in the gym bag for the next day, plan out the meals, set a budget, throw out the twinkies, set the alarm for 15 minutes earlier to spend time in the Word, etc.

II. We tend to give up if we do see immediate results.

a. We forget that small, healthy decisions add up over time.

i. Gone on a diet for a week and gained a pound.

ii. Gone to the gym and sore for a week.

iii. Done devotions every day and still yelling at the kids/spouse/coworkers/geese/drivers.

iv. Good decisions that no one sees aren’t wasted, they are being stored up. Added up like compound interest.

b. We forget that small, bad decisions add up over time.

i. Skip church two weeks in a row and world doesn’t fall apart.

ii. Eat a whole box of pink box donuts and blood pressure doesn’t skyrocket.

iii. Ignore your spouse/kids for a week and still have your family.

iv. Bad decisions don’t disappear; they simply add up over time.

v. “It’s the things no one sees that bring results everyone wants.” — Groschel

c. We forget that our lives are a sum total of small decisions added up over time.

i. We don’t get to the place we want to be in an instant; it’s small, good decisions over a long period of time.

1. Dave Ramsey- Live like no one else so you can live and give like no one else.

ii. We don’t wreck our lives in one instant (most of the time). It’s small, poor decisions over a long period of time.

iii. Prison ill- inmates try to get guards to break small rules, then find one willing to do so. Offer them ton of money for small item from outside- cigarettes, weed, etc. Get hook in and make them do it for good or turn them in. Eventually get caught and end up in prison themselves. Small bad decisions add up.

iv. Galatians 6:7-9- “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” NLT

v. We reap in time what we sow now.

III. We tend to connect failure to our identity. 

a. We understand that many incredible people in Scripture struggled with identity issues.

i. Moses- I can’t speak in public. I can’t do what You’ve called me to do because I’ve failed before.

ii. Gideon- I’m from the least important clan. I can’t do what You’ve called me to do.

iii. Paul- I’m unworthy and unqualified. I’ve messed up too many times, too big.

iv. We sabotage ourselves if we connect what we’ve done in the past with who we are now and who we are becoming.

b. We need to decide who we want to become, and trust the results to come.

i. We can work on “who” goals instead of “what” goals.

ii. We want to be a godly husband/wife. We want to be a healthy person. WE want to be financially free.

iii. The do comes from the who.

iv. Romans 6:6-7- “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” NLT

c. We need to understand that positive habits help reinforce a positive identity.

i. They have a reciprocal relationship. Positive identity helps reinforce positive identity; positive identity helps reinforce positive habits.

ii. “No single action will change your identity, but consistent actions over time start to change how you feel about yourself and change your identity.”

iii. God-honoring people do consistently what other people do occasionally.