NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

June 14

Scripture focus: I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.  But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.  It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.  I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?  The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. Romans 7:14-25 The Message

Habituation does not mean forming a habit. Habituation is the neurological cause of tolerance. Basically, it means that the cells become less sensitive and responsive to repeated stimuli. This can happen when the brain basically hangs up the phone, refusing to take the call from repetitive cells trying to get attention. If this goes on too long, the nerve cells actually start to destroy their own receptors!

Pete works at home. He emphasizes “work”; the children and I like to focus on “at home”. When the kids were young, they would run into his office for various things they thought were important – come play ball, fix my lego, open my juice box, tie my shoe, come watch tv... He got into the habit of turning around when the door opened and holding up his hand, signaling – STOP!

If I had charged into his office to discuss the summer plans, feedback may not have ever occurred if I had violated the boundary between work and home too often. Pete would have been habituated to signaling – STOP! He would not have heard my cry of distress or responded to my need for feedback.

Michael might have a rental agreement with the local RV store signed, sealed and delivered before Pete and I could find a moment to talk this issue through.

That’s why so many addicts find themselves completed taken off-guard when their bosses fire them, their spouses leave them, and their dog runs off with a pack of other dogs. Signals are missed, balance is off-kilter, clues go undiscovered. Eventually, hopefully, the person in distress has a moment of clarity. Like Paul in the book of Romans, they want to know how in the world things got so bad. It’s called habituation – like feedback, it’s trying to keep things in balance.

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