The disciples in the early church were making waves by doing uncommon things, like healing the sick and leading thousands to Christ. In an effort to suppress their influence, religious leaders arrested them and put them in “a common prison” (Acts 5:12–18). I believe today in the heart of every person there is still a struggle against this prison called “common.” Too many people are being held there, either by their own perspective or because of the labels others have placed on them. But just like the disciples, you are not average. You aren’t ordinary. And you’re far from common.
Your habits, often called spiritual disciplines, are the key to living out this uncommon life of a revolutionary. When you’ve come from a life of addiction and have seen what negative habits can do to a person, you realize that unless you develop new habits, you might end up in the place you were before. When I became a Christian, I knew that unless I changed my habits I wasn’t going to make it. I began to pray a simple prayer that helped me create new habits of the heart: Lord, give me a hunger and desire for You and Your Word. I am still feeling the ripple effect of this prayer today.
That prayer launched me into a passion for reading His Word in any form I could get into my hands. I would buy and borrow books to keep my heart saturated in His Word. I traded my habit of collecting records and memorizing beats for collecting biblical commentaries and memorizing Scripture. Instead of staying up late to party, I was now staying up late to study Greek and Hebrew. To the amazement of my family, I filled my room with books to read instead of records to play. The ironic part of this new habit was that, in elementary school, reading was not my strongest subject, to say the least. I developed a passion for reading and studying that today has served me well. Through those early days, I learned that developing healthy heart habits, as part of a lifestyle, is vital to maintaining your passion and fire to live, lead, and love from the heart.
- Excerpt from The Heart Revolution book by Sergio De La Mora. Purchase your book today from Amazon.com
