Telltale Patterns

Patterns are all around us – in nature, music, and math. There are repetitive trends in traffic, consumerism, and culture, in behavior and in history.    

Patterns are a series of repeated actions that are connected and reveal a bigger picture. They indicate the direction we’re headed in, good or bad. If we make a habit of brushing our teeth every night, we’re setting up a healthy habit. If an employee is late to work again, and then again, his boss may see it as a pattern and fire him.

Throughout Israel’s history, we see cycles in Israel’s attitude towards God. When they followed Him with all their hearts, God blessed them in many ways and delivered them from their enemies. But when they turned to other gods, they slowly began to disregard God’s moral guidelines. They neglected the poor, ignored justice, and became greedy and selfish. Despite God’s warnings through the prophets, they refused to turn back to worshipping Him alone. So God allowed famine, plagues, and their enemies to overtake them until dire consequences brought them to their knees.

History gives similar examples of nations who worshiped the gods of power, wealth, and self-indulgence. Their moral decline was evident in their callous disregard for human life, selfish decadence, and blatant immorality.  That is what happens when our focus on loving God shifts to loving ourselves and the cultural trends in the world around us. The Bible tells us that if we start giving in to our cravings, wanting more of what we see everyone has, or boasting about our possessions and accomplishments, these show that we love the world more than we love Him.¹  It’s a slippery, downward pattern that plunges people into ruin. ²

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christ followers in Rome, “Do not CONFORM any longer to the  PATTERN of this world (Romans 12:2). The Greek word here means “to be shaped or fashioned.”  From its root word, schema, or “external form,” we get our word “scheme.” Make no mistake, there is a scheme engineered by Satan to pull us away from God by enticing us with other passions. But we are not unaware of Satan’s schemes. ³

Paul continued by urging us to allow ourselves to instead by transformed (metamorphoo) by the renewing of our minds. We can’t do this on our own. God transforms us through His Spirit “poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5,6).   

So how can we consciously allow new patterns in our life to draw us closer to God?  There are many ways, but I’m going to focus on just two.

Develop a pattern of listening for God. By saying “Good Morning!” to God and spending a few moments listening to Him first thing in the morning, we show our love for Him and desire to make Him our life’s priority. “In Your Word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5). “As I wait, I will put my trust in You” (Isaiah 8:17). Listening to and learning the sound of His voice trains us to be ready for His direction at any moment in our day.

Develop a habit of reacting to His direction. When I began a habit of reading the Bible during my daily treadmill time, I also started scribbling down notes of verses that jumped out at me. As I recorded these notes on my computer, I noticed verses from the Old and New Testaments the agreed with each other. I developed a keener eye in catching these connections and reading the same thing on the same day in two different places. It was a pattern.

I remember thinking one day, God doesn’t really speak to me directly. Immediately, I heard in my head, “Well then, what’s all this?” He was referring to the pages and pages of “same day” observations I’d carefully recorded. God was frequently pointing out to me directions and encouragements He wanted me to remember and act on. He had created a pattern of speaking to me, many times on crucial and timely truths.

What have you noticed about the way God interacts with you time after time? Are you noticing the prayers He’s answering? The lessons you’ve learned in waiting? The way your faith in Him has deepened in difficult circumstances? Is He revealing more of His awesome character to you? These are all patterns that show God is transforming you and conforming you to His will.

Let’s give heed to the destructive patterns around us, and let us cultivate the good patterns God is using in us and in the Body of Christ.

¹ 1 John 2:15,16;  ² 1 Timothy 6:9;  ³ 2 Corinthians 2:11;