Building Habits: The Gap Between Knowing and Doing

Have you lived in that space between knowing something and actually doing it? There's a gap (a large, jagged one at times) between wrangling up all the knowledge about a truth, a way of life, or a practice and actually putting our feet and hands into action. 

We know we should read God's Word regularly—but planting ourselves in a chair and laying it open on our table is another thing.

We know we should pray—but pausing to say “Dear Father, please help me” is another practice altogether.

We know we should drink sixty-four ounces of water a day—but remembering to drink from the water bottle is another battle in itself.

We know we should take a pause to cool down when arguments get heated—but actually following through when you're boiling with anger is hard.

We know that the orchid on our windowsill needs regular watering—but finding the time within the day to soak it isn't easy.

For some issues, it's a journey in and of itself to convince ourselves that we need to change our ways or implement a new habit. We have to immerse ourselves in books, podcasts, and the counsel of others. Sometimes we have to go through a trying situation to realize how poorly our pre-established ways actually work. But once we get our hands around that truth and we full-heartedly resound a cheer of agreement with it, we believe that the battle is over. We're convinced; now, we'll automatically begin to follow through. 

Yet what do we discover? We know the truth, we can even preach the truth to others, but we're still stumbling our way through our day without ever implementing it. 

Continue reading at Beautiful Christian Life.