One of my favorite leadership books is Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Leader. Its principles make a lot of sense from a business perspective, and many of them can be applied to a Christian context. However, life principles like one are drawn from years of human experiences, gained from trials and errors. Because they derive from the human mind and experience, they are subject to errors even though they appear well-worded wisdom for life. What we need as Christians is to go to the Bible itself and draw life principles from God’s Word. Instead of formulating principles and trying to find biblical support for them, we want to let the Bible speak for itself. Instead of looking outside in, we must see inside out from the Bible. Instead of eisegesis (the interpretation of the Bible by reading into it one’s own ideas), we must exegete (the critical interpretation of the biblical text to discover its intended meaning) the Word of God. The more we can do this, the more we can understand God’s will for us. In other words, we want the Bible to speak about how we can live a faithful Christian life, honoring and pleasing God. Further, we know that God does not necessarily call us to be successful but rather faithful and obedient to Him. These eight principles drawn from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 are spot-on teaching and will help you be practical in your daily walk with Christ as it did for me. It even says they are God’s will for us in Christ Jesus, so what do we have to lose? Here is what it says:

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

Here are the 8 Habits as they are translated in the New American Standard Bible:

• Habit 1: “Rejoice Always”
• Habit 2: “Pray Without Ceasing”
• Habit 3: “In Everything Give Thanks”
• Habit 4: “Do Not Quench the Spirit”
• Habit 5: “Do not Despise Prophetic Utterances”
• Habit 6: “Examine Everything Carefully”
• Habit 7: “Hold Fast to That Which Is Good”
• Habit 8: “Abstain from Every Form of Evil”

There are eight action verbs here that can be formed as “habits.” I like the word “habit” because it gives me an action to do rather than some vague idea, theory, or concept of a word. A wise person once said, “Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” I love it. Instead of seeing these statements as one-time actions, I can form habits from them to eventually do them without thinking. Additionally, these eight habits can be categorized into three areas of our Christian walk. The first three habits involve looking inwardly and dealing with what is happening inside each of us. The fourth and fifth habits involve looking upward to God and how we respond to Him. The last three habits involve looking outwardly at the world and dealing with issues we face, whether relational, cultural, financial, or political.

I. FAITHFUL HABITS THAT INVOLVE LOOKING INWARDLY

Habit 1: “Rejoice Always” – This first habit speaks of our attitude in life. Your attitude will determine whether you will be a positive or negative person. The state of rejoicing always is not possible with fleshly strength. We need God’s help through His Spirit. In Philippians 4:4, Paul clarifies this by saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.” Yes, when we are in Christ, we can experience lasting joy. Galatians 5:22 says that the second of the fruit of the Spirit is “joy,” and it is a blessing from God. Further, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (Jn.15:11). Therefore, to experience full and constant joy, we must make it a habit of walking in the Spirit and asking Jesus to fill us with his joy. I love the idea that God doesn’t discount our human emotions. It’s just that He wants our feelings to be positive, God-focused, and faith-inspired. For me, “rejoicing in the Lord always” is about developing a habit of remembering the blessings of God and being happy about them. The first place to start is with our joy of salvation and the things accompanying salvation, such as forgiveness, a new home in heaven, prayers answered, and new brothers and sisters in Christ. When we lack joy in life, we can pray as David prayed, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Ps.51:12). As for me, I remind myself when I can, “Always rejoice in God always!”

Habit 2: “Pray without Ceasing” – This second habit concerns our communion with God. Someone may ask, “How can anyone pray without ceasing?” Well, the Bible says, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Eph.6:18, NIV). We can see two things from this verse. First, praying without ceasing is about praying “in the Spirit.” The Bible says that we have two supernatural prayer partners helping us to pray—Jesus interceding for us in heaven at the right hand of God (Rom.8:34) and the Holy Spirit praying with us inside of us (Rom.8:26-27). Praying in the Spirit is about pigging back off these divine prayer partners. Even when we forget, the Spirit will continue to pray with our spirit with “groanings too deep for words,” and He will always pray according to God’s will. Second, praying without ceasing is about praying with “all kinds of prayers and requests.” It means we don’t have to pray in one specific way. We can pray while kneeling, standing, walking, lying down, or even while sleeping. We can pray audibly, out loud, or silently with our minds. Jesus said, “Your (Heavenly) Father knows what you need, before you ask Him” (Mt.6:8). Again, Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” God has made it possible for us to pray without ceasing. The bottom line is to develop a habit of staying always connected with God, audibly or silently, knowingly or unknowingly, officially or unofficially, when happy or sad, when you feel like it or not.

Habit 3: “In Everything Give Thanks” – This third habit speaks of our faith in God. It takes strong faith to thank God for everything, good or bad. First, faith in God says that we believe God is in control of everything whether things are going well or not. Second, faith in God says that you believe God is good. Third, faith in God says that His will for you is the best. If you don’t have strong enough faith to give thanks for everything, then start by thanking God for one good and one bad thing every day. How you give thanks to God says a lot about your faith in Him. Do you only thank God when things succeed and turn out right? What does that say about your faith? The Bible says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28). Do you believe this? The Bible also says, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting” (Ps.136:1). Do you believe this about God? If you answer yes to these things, then you can thank God that He is in control and has a purpose for you, even when bad things happen. Develop a habit of giving thanks on every occasion, good times and bad times, and your faith will honor God.

II. FAITHFUL HABITS THAT INVOLVE LOOKING UPWARDLY

Habit 4: “Do Not Quench the Spirit” – This fourth habit concerns our walk in the Spirit. God gave us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance in the kingdom, and He will be with us forever. Also, God gave us His Spirit so we can have His authority and power in our war against our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and we can be victorious if we are willing to “walk by the Spirit” (Gal.5:16-18). Jesus spoke of the Spirit as our “Counselor” or “Helper,” who will remind us of God’s words, disclose what is to come, teach us what to say, produce the spiritual fruits, endow us with spiritual gifts, help us to pray, and more. Being led by “the Spirit of God” is the same as being led by “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom.8:9). They are one and the same, and He links us to God in heaven. In other words, this habit will connect us to God’s throne in heaven as we walk with Christ on earth. We can walk with God’s presence, wisdom, and power to live a faithful and victorious Christian life. Although this habit is stated negatively, we can also look at it positively. There are other similar passages – “resisting the Spirit” (Acts 7:51) and “grieving the Holy Spirit” (Eph.4:30). All of them are negative, but if we can turn them into positives, we can say something like, “Be open to the work of the Spirit.”

Habit 5: “Do not Despise Prophetic Utterances” – This fifth habit concerns how we respond to God’s Word. Notice that habits four and five deal with how we respond to God – His Word and His Spirit. As human beings, we cannot see God, but He has made a way for us to see Him through His words and manifestations of His Spirit. In Greek, “prophetic utterances” is simply one-word “prophēteias.” This word is often used to refer to “prophets, prophecy, prophesying, or gift of prophecy,” and they always communicate and enforce the revealed Word or Truth of God. Further, the Word of God in Greek is “Logos,” which speaks of Jesus as the Living Word, the Scriptures as the Written Word, and preaching or prophesying as the Spoken Word. There are many ways that God’s words can come to us. The problem is that we don’t always know they are coming from God. As Christians, we can always validate the truth of prophetic utterances by testing them with what they say in the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ. In other words, not despising or rejecting prophetic utterances is about believing, honoring, and receiving God’s words with reverence. Again, like habit four, it is stated in a negative form, but we can say something like, “Be open to God’s words, whether they be Living, written, or spoken.

III. FAITHFUL HABITS THAT INVOLVE LOOKING OUTWARDLY

Habit 6: “Examine Everything Carefully”—This sixth habit is about dealing with things we encounter in life, whether they be relationships, cultural things, choices we make, paths we take, or what we value. Examining things can also be about our relationships with God, like how to pray, please God, and worship Him. In most cases, however, it is about issues we face in life. Not everything is straightforward, right or wrong. If that were true, then our decisions would be a lot easier. Instead, most issues are greyed out, blurred, confusing, and neutral sounding. Sometimes, they are a choice between two goods or between two evils. In those cases, we need wisdom to choose the better of the good and the lesser of the evils. This is where a good habit of examining things carefully comes into play, and we need to do it with the help of the Holy Spirit and a sound understanding of the Bible. The word “examine” in Greek is “dokimazo,” which means “put to the test, prove, approve, distinguish, or examine.” If you are not able to discern things, then it is because you are not mature enough. Hebrews 5:13-14 says, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Both “milk” and “solid food” here refer to God’s Word. Thus, habit six is about being “trained” to move from examining things on a baby level to examining things on a mature level with God’s words. The more you can learn to handle it accurately, the more you will be able to examine and discern good and evil.

Habit 7: “Hold Fast to That Which Is Good” – This seventh habit is about loving God by choosing the right path that comes out of doing habit six. After a careful examination, one can determine what is right and wrong, good and evil, godly or ungodly, pleasing God or not pleasing Him. Yet, we do not want to end there and say it was a great devotional. The Bible clearly shows that when we obey God’s commands, we genuinely please Him. Jesus reminded his followers, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Mt.7:21). Again, he said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me” (Jn.14:23-24). Obeying God’s command is an issue of loving Him and having a relationship with Him. Thus, the habit of holding fast to that which is good is about seeking the best way to love, honor, and please God.

Habit 8: “Abstain from Every Form of Evil” – This final habit is about doing our best to avoid everything God hates, the opposite of habit seven. The phrase “every form of evil” implies that we stay away from not only evil itself but also its appearance. Not everything is evil, but some of them can have the appearance of evil. In other words, we may not be evil as Christians, but we do not want to imitate people, things, or circumstances that replicate evil. It includes how we talk, dress, and appear before others. It involves how we spend our time and money and who we associate with. It means loving things that God loves and hating things that God hates. Yes, the Bible says that God can hate and hate certain things! Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.” If there is a description of evil things, these are it. Thus, the habit of abstaining from every form of evil is about identifying things that God hates and learning to hate them as much as He does.

Making these eight things a part of my daily habits has helped me greatly. Habits can be both good and bad. We all have them. Interestingly, I discovered that it doesn’t take much effort to develop bad habits. I just let go of myself and start eating poorly and not exercising, and boom, bad habits take over. On the other hand, good habits require commitment and determination to stick through. Eating healthy food and exercising regularly is about forcing my lazy body to commit. It’s not easy. Likewise, spiritual habits such as rejoicing, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks for all circumstances require me to buffet my body to obey. It’s not easy, but doable. And once I do it, I feel good about myself afterward.  

Each day, I try to start with the first habit and intentionally rejoice in the Lord. I think about my salvation, simply that I am saved from going to the Lake of Fire and saved to spend eternity with God in heaven. I think about God’s unending love for me, His mercy and grace that I do not deserve, and His Son who died for me to make all this happen. When I do it right, I sense joy, which almost always leads me to tears. Then, the rest of the habits seem to naturally come into play as I commit to another day of wanting to live a life that pleases God. The habit I seem to struggle with most is “examining everything carefully,” as I am still spiritually immature to accurately handle God’s words. I guess I still need to strengthen my spiritual teeth so I can chew and digest the solid food God offers me daily. I pray that these Eight Habits of a Faithful Christian encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus as you walk on troubled waters and endure through life’s storms.