Photo by Aaron Burden

Over the past year, I have added these habits to my daily routine. They have allowed for spiritual discovery and strengthened my relationship to Jesus in truly profound and unexpected ways.

1. Start with Gratitude

In the book titled Grateful Brain, author and neuroscientist Alex Korb PhD, states that gratitude and anxiety produce opposite physiologic reactions. The former, stimulating the parasympathetic response of relaxation and life-preservation, releasing the hormone acetylcholine which is responsible for slowing the heart-rate and aiding in digestion, and the latter triggering the sympathetic response of “fight or flight,” which releases norepinephrine and epinephrine, and jolts the body into action in times of stress or danger. As a result, a person can only be one or the other, but never both.

“Practicing gratitude modulates key brain circuits that contribute to mood, motivation, resilience, and more. It stimulates the region of your brainstem where dopamine is produced, which has a general motivational effect. It also activates your nucleus accumbens where dopamine gets released for little sparks of joy. And perhaps more importantly it alters the activity in your anterior cingulate cortex to pay more attention to the positive aspects of your reality, helping you get a bigger boost from all the wonderful things in your life that are so easily overlooked.”

In support of Dr. Korb’s research, a 2011 publication in the National Library of Medicine, detailed the results of a study by Drs. Rosanna W. L. Lau and Sheung Tak-Cheng. The article, Gratitude Lessens Death Anxiety, detailed how something as simple as regular notation in a gratitude journal could profoundly improve outlook on life.

“By reexamining life events with a thankful attitude, people may become less fearful of death due to a sense that life has been well-lived. Because gratitude can be induced using a very brief procedure, there are broad applications in clinical and health-care settings for the relief of death anxiety.”

As compelling as the modern research and data is, the concept of gratefulness is not new. In the Bible, giving thanks has been mentioned hundreds of times as a dutiful and humble practice in both the Old and New Testaments.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2

In terms of my own observations, I have found deep peace and joy through the appreciation for my being and my circumstances as they exist, as well as what is perceived through my senses, like the brilliant orange of yesterday’s sunset or the smell of the earth after a light rain. Instead of listening to music and audio books or watching videos, sitting in a period of intentioned silence throughout the day allows for dialog between me and the Divine. During the stillness, giving thanks and recognizing the awe of the moment reminds me of the splendor of creation and of the power of our Creator.

2. Beginning Each Day with the Word

When we dedicate part of our day to the Lord alone and meditate on His Word, we recalibrate our system and align actions with His desires. Insignificance begins to dissolve and we are better able to submit. Reading and reflecting helps us know, understand, and recognize the Word. It produces spiritual fluency in the Holy Spirit, bestowing comfort and direction in trying times, and guidance and focus in abundance.

Christoph Römhild, a Lutheran pastor, and Chris Harrison PhD, collaborated on a visual representation of the 63,779 cross-references of the Bible — or as Dr Jordan Peterson refers to it, the “very first hyperlinked book.” The 66 books and 1,189 chapters are depicted in varying shades of gray lines along the bottom of the image, with chapters and page lengths indicated via width and length of the lines. The arcs represent the connective references.

With such a rich symphony of historic events, parables, prophecy, poems, eyewitness accounts, and letters, there will always be something unveiled, unexplored, or unexpected within every verse.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” 1 Peter 2:2

3. Praying for Others First

Caring about others automatically removes the focus on our own circumstances. When we go to God and set our prayers to bless family and friends, it redirects the obsession we have over our own lives.

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16

Throughout his teachings, Jesus called for people to do precisely the opposite of what had been previously learned or practiced. One of which was a call to love and pray for enemies.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he that maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefor perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven perfect.” Matthew 5: 44–48

Praying for others before ourselves gives us the opportunity to offer grace and live in humility. The removal of self is the path to goodness. While none but Jesus will ever achieve perfection, and none but God is without flaws, the effort towards godliness is a good target no matter what season is upon us.

“‘Cause on my best day, I’m a child of God, on my worst day, I’m a child of God, Oh every day is a good day, And You’re the reason why.” Lyrics from ‘I’m So Blessed’ by Cain.