We Never Replace Something with Nothing

We never replace something with nothing. We always replace it with something else.

After a week that left me physically and mentally tired, I took it easy in my morning prayer routine. I read my Bible and prayed each day, but I took a break from the spiritual disciplines I normally go through on most mornings. 

For most of the week I thought I was resting from all that, but at week’s end I realized I had only replaced it. I found myself unintentionally replacing those spiritual disciplines with other things: email, news, weather, to-do lists, bank balance, and social media posts. 

I was surprised, even shocked, that it was so effortless, so subtle, so…normal. It was when I scrolled through social media that I finally stopped and realized what I was doing. Nothing wrong with all that stuff, but I saw yet again that when we rest from or stop doing something, we invariably replace it with something else, whether we think about it or not.

I’m not saying we should always do a ton of spiritual disciplines. But if we ignore them, we only replace them with something—or a lot of things—less worthwhile. We can get ourselves sooo busy. But always ask this question: How much is this activity worth?

Or specifically, how much is it worth to my spiritual, mental, or physical well-being? To my financial well-being? To my spouse or kids? To the Kingdom of God? To others—now or in eternity?

When they are well-chosen, life-giving, and consistent, simple disciplines of any kind are a doorway to freedom and well-being of any kind.

It’s not about striving. It’s about aligning ourselves with God’s Word and Spirit and engaging ourselves with what has meaning, value, and purpose. (And that includes resting—God even commands it.)

Ask hard questions of what you do—especially in the face of your own mortality, of God’s Kingdom, and of eternity.

As you lean in that direction, you cannot help but position yourself for a life of blessing.