How to Reignite Faith When My Routine Gets in the Way

Sometimes I can get stuck in my routine. I start my morning the same way every day I can. I fall into a rhythm with school and gymnastics and church. I even put plates a certain way in the dishwasher–every time.

In the midst of the repetition, faith can begin to feel a bit monotonous. Perhaps you’ve experienced this. You might feel like you’re on autopilot, mudding through the motions, willing your heart to be in it. Maybe you’re struggling to keep up with the minimum because the needs that take your time? Well, they keep multiplying.

Meet Paul. Here’s a guy with regular demands on his plate that would have most of us tail-spinning. 

Your mental battle to get out the way and let God have His way? Paul gets that.

Your insistent, inner perfectionist telling you to work harder? Your die-hard self-critic saying it’s all on you? Your boot-strapping self-preservation efforts? Paul relates to the wrestle.

He says that “when it comes to the righteousness required by the law, [his] record is spotless” (Philippians 3:6, The Voice).

And yet, the conviction in Paul’s voice, when it comes to faith, is evident. I’ve been camping out in Philippians chapter 3 as I prepare for a speaking engagement, and Paul’s all-in attitude rattles me.

Let’s look at a few of these lines.

Verse 8:

I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing the Anointed Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him. 

In verse 12, Paul writes,

I’m not there yet, nor have I become perfect; but I am charging on to gain anything and everything the Anointed One, Jesus, has in store for me.

He continues in verses 13 and 14:

I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission. I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed. 

These are words laced with deep-set conviction. Paul sees nothing as more important than knowing God and introducing others to Christ. He lives with eager urgency, face set towards heaven, his feet following in Jesus’ footsteps so that others might imitate the Christ they see in him (Phil. 3:14 and 1 Cor. 11:1). 

Faith That Isn’t Boring

Where does Paul’s undying drive come from? 

He’s lived the quintessential life. Crossed his t’s and dotted his i’s. On paper, he was devout. In practice, he was going the wrong direction. It was a full, meaningless life.

What changed is an encounter with God Himself. Perfectionist (and persecutor of Christians) meets Perfect Savior, and Paul is undone. You can read this wild story in Acts 9:1–22.

We can surmise that the contrast between a life of religiosity and self-betterment and a life centered on Christ is so significant that Paul simply can’t slacken his pace.

He’s using language that captures purposeful movement: “thrown everything aside” (v. 8), “charging on” (v. 12), and “sprinting” (v. 14). There’s nothing passive about Paul’s faith. He is willing to risk comfort, reputation, control, even life itself for the cause of Christ.

I’m guessing Paul isn’t bored with his faith.

But if the secret is a radical salvation story, mine is pretty tame. I can’t remember a time I didn’t know I could talk to God. Yes, He’s still hard at work in me,, but I’ve known for as long as I’m alive that He’s with me.

Maybe you have a similar story. The befores and afters are more subtle than Paul’s as God dethrones your fear, relaxes your hands, and teaches your feet to fall in sync with His.

How can we, like Paul, live with abandon, urgency, and expectation?

4 Paul-Tested Affirmations to Reignite Faith

Here’s what I learn from his letter to the Philippians:

1. My routine cannot get in the way of my relationship with God.

I might need to switch up my routine to keep my attention on Christ rather than myself. When my morning time with God becomes a to-do, my focus shifts to what I can do. Pride can slide in, subtly disguised as faithfulness. Like Paul, we can keep our perfectionism in check by staying laser-focused on this: knowing God “inside and out” (v. 10). Consistently seeking new insight brings a freshness into our faith life.

2. Trust is a verb.

Paul puts himself in a position where he needs to “actively [rely] on [God’s] faithfulness” (v. 9). He doesn’t grow trust by passively sitting back, but by taking risks. I, too, find that I trust God differently when I say yes to things I cannot do without His help. The more often I step forward in obedience that requires I practice trusting Him, the more my faith grows.

3. Rejoicing is a choice. 

When I look ahead to the next chapter, I find this faith-igniting clue in Philippians 4:4: “Always rejoice in the Lord.” The word “always” fills me with hope, because if anyone had reason to not rejoice, it would have been Paul. And yet, he insists there are no exceptions. Why? Because no matter our circumstances, God is irrevocably faithful and entirely worthy of our praise. Choosing to rejoice in Christ when we least feel like it levels up our faith.

4. Safety is found in surrender.

I’m guilty of picking the safest, most comfortable option sometimes. You too? But Paul knows that playing it safe can deteriorate our faith. He spells it out this way: “I want to experience the power of His resurrection and join in His sufferings, shaped by His death, so that I may arrive safely at the resurrection from the dead” (v. 11). We can keep our faith alive by regularly leaning into surrender.

Let’s pray this together:

Lord, we come to You ready for more. Reveal Yourself to us. Reawaken our hearts. Revive our faith. May we chase hard after You with the urgency and abandon of Paul.

In Your name, Jesus. Amen.

Just a friend over here in your corner,

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What if you gave your faith the chance to ripple right into your neighborhood? These quick tips provide a wide variety of baby steps to help you begin to build friendships with your neighbors. When we get close to God and let others get close to us, the things God is working out in us can show.

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