7 Habits for a Rich and Satisfying Life

“God is working in you.” Becoming like Jesus is an indirect process. We cannot sanctify ourselves—it is accomplished by the Holy Spirit within us—but the Spirit does not transform us without our participation. As Paul said in Galatians 5, we are to “walk by the Spirit,” be “led by the Spirit,” “live by the Spirit,” and “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 18 & 25 NIV). When we allow the Spirit to lead us then we will bear “the fruit of the Spirit.”

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

That is the wonderful news about sanctification—that God works with us to change us from the inside out. It is a partnership. We have a role to play, but the Holy Spirit does all the heavy lifting. Paul explained it this way:

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:12-13)

As God works within us, he not only gives us “the power to do what pleases him,” but also “the desire” to do so. You have probably experienced that. After you became a Christian you found yourself doing things you had never dreamed of doing before—and you were doing them, not because you had to, but because you wanted to. That is evidence of the Spirit working within you to mold you into the person God wants you to be. That is why becoming like Jesus is not frustratingly impossible. It is not drudgery, in fact, it is rest from drudgery because now our all-powerful God is working in us and through us. That is why John could write that God’s commands “are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3), and why Jesus could say…

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

But, again, we have a role to play. It is like our physical health. Protection from accidents and disease are gifts from God, but that doesn’t mean I can spend all day on the couch gorging myself with potato chips and expect to live a long and healthy life. My health and longevity are in God’s hands, but I also have a role to play by exercising and eating a healthy diet. Likewise, each of us has a role to play if we wish to be spiritually healthy. The Spirit will cause us to grow if we do certain things. The rest of this book will focus on those ‘certain things.’ They are the ‘exercises and healthy diet’ that God uses to cause us to become like Jesus.

“A rich and satisfying life.” At this point you may agree that God wishes for you to become like Jesus, but you may be thinking that being holy doesn’t sound like a lot of fun; and striving to grow to spiritual maturity sounds like a lot of work. What I am about to say is vitally important, and seldom understood: God wants you to enjoy life! God loves you, and wants what’s best for you, therefore God’s purposes for your life (to believe in Jesus and to become like Jesus) are designed by your Designer to benefit you!

When Jesus was born an angel announced, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people” (Luke 2:10). Jesus told his disciples, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:11). Luke described Christians this way, “the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52). Paul said that when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us that we will naturally exhibit “love, joy, peace” and other attractive virtues (Galatians 5:22). Living as God desires is a joyful experience!

I love potato chips. I could sit in front of the TV and devour a big bag of chips. I could—and I have—but the enjoyment was short-lived. I would always end up feeling miserable. It seemed like the desirable thing to do at the time, but it only led to regret. Life can be like that. We can spend our days doing what seems desirable at the moment, only to discover later that we have frittered our life away in trivial pursuits. God has a bigger plan for your life. A life of purpose and significance. A fulfilling life. A joyful life. Jesus said he came to give us “a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). We will experience that Spirit-transformed life as we practice the habits described in this book.