Spiritual disciplines are a means of enhancing the believer’s enjoyment of Jesus. They create space in a busy life for God to speak. The grace-empowered practices of prayer, gathering for worship, fasting, and meditation (to name a few) are evidence of our relationship with Christ. They become an invitation to do away with our weighty checklists and bring the practice of godliness into our everyday life, along with the cluttered desk, the sticky kitchen table, the overflowing inboxes, and the cranky toddlers (or teens).
We fall back on our habits when we’re weak, so our habits must point us in the right direction. If we’re primarily being informed by the culture, if we’re listening to the loud voice of the prevailing mindset, these are the stories that will form us and guide our thinking. We never arrive in our journey God-ward, and it is in practicing the habits of grace that we become most aware that even in our small and tentative movements toward righteousness, we are fueled by God’s empowering grace and formed by the right and true gospel story.
We fall back on our habits when we’re weak, so our habits must point us in the right direction.
Tweet
Habits of Resistance
If the peaceful promises of the gospel always seem just beyond your reach, you may be looking for fulfillment in the wrong place. In Habits of Resistance, Elizabeth Woodson urges readers to push back against the false stories of the culture’s discipleship pathway.
Woodson presents the hopeful message that we don’t need to earn our value since our identity is secure as God’s children. His faithful love takes us outside ourselves in acts of service for others and fuels a merciful justice that begins in prayer. The confident joy found in the gospel is better than the temporary dopamine rush that comes with an Amazon package.
With practical wisdom, Habits of Resistance points out that the prevailing culture offers the illusion of control while God extends the promise of true peace. Remembering God’s faithfulness in the past leads to a foundation of hope that resists escapism or despair. Linking specific habits of holiness with the false story they counteract gives warrior-like intensity to spiritual practices like fasting and prayer, meditation and confession, corporate worship and service.
I appreciated Woodson’s skillful rendering of the Genesis creation narrative as a roadmap to take readers back to our origin as God’s image bearers—and to our sad story of rebellion that accounts for our inability to settle into the practice of God’s sturdy, self-giving love. She sends us directly to the feet of Jesus, with the reminder that, “when we believe our lives truly lack joy, the issue isn’t that God missed us on one of his joy distribution runs. Rather, we have drifted from the Source.” My kids and their peers are Woodson’s intended audience, but Boomers like me are certainly not immune to the allure of false stories promising the good life.
Holding You in the Light,
Habits of Resistance sends us to the feet of Jesus, for “when we believe our lives truly lack joy, the issue isn’t that God missed us on one of his joy distribution runs. Rather, we have drifted from the Source.” @BHPub @missjazzyliz
Tweet
More Biblical Encouragement for You on the YouVersion App
As you know, I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path. At Living Our Days, I provide biblical content and resources to encourage biblical literacy and faithful living, and now I’m sharing devotional content on the YouVersion app. Visit my profile page to get free access to all the reading plans!
Have You Read the Latest Newsletter?
On the third Thursday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where all the news lands first.
CLICK HERE to find me on Substack, where my goal is to help you on the path of becoming a confident follower of God and a student of His Word.
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate, which means that whenever you purchase a book I’ve shared here through the link I provide, I’ll receive a very small commission. It doesn’t cost you more, and I only share books here that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
Many thanks to B&H Publishing Group for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
Living Our Days 