https://braveknightwriters.com/blog/1073-Turning-Points-Using-Lifes-Big-Changes-to-Break-Bad-Habits
Turning Points: Using Life’s Big Changes to Break Bad Habits
Thursday, July 3, 2025 by Zoe Houston
Photo by Pexels
Every season of transition holds a story waiting to be rewritten. Whether it's a new job, a move across the country, marriage, divorce, a health scare, or the bittersweet experience of watching children leave home, these moments can unearth buried patterns and open a path to reformation. For followers of Christ, these windows in time are more than just challenges—they're sacred invitations to renew your spirit and reshape your routines. When God shifts your surroundings, He often intends to shift your inner world too.
Start with the Wilderness, Not the Map
You don't need a five-step plan the day your world turns sideways. Life transitions feel messy because they uproot comfort, and in that discomfort is a rare chance to see yourself with clarity. Think of Jesus in the wilderness—before ministry, before miracles, there were forty days of solitude. Likewise, when you're between where you were and where you're going, let that be a pause. Don't rush to control it. Let yourself dwell there and ask what the Spirit is surfacing.
Consider Your Career Path Options
Before stress starts seeping into every corner of your life, it’s worth considering whether your job is still serving your growth or simply draining you. For those drawn to healthcare, advancing through an online degree can be a powerful step toward purpose and stability. Exploring the importance of MSN degrees might open doors to roles in nurse education, informatics, administration, or advanced practice that align better with your gifts and long-term goals. If your current role no longer stretches your capabilities or you've felt the nudge toward a more fulfilling path, a career switch could offer welcome relief—not just professionally, but mentally and emotionally as well.
Name the Habit, Then Dissect the Lie
Old habits cling like shadows, especially when you're vulnerable. During a life change, you may find yourself reaching for the same escape hatches—procrastination, overeating, endless scrolling—not because you enjoy them, but because they numb the unknown. But the truth is, every bad habit is rooted in a lie. Maybe it's “I’m not worthy,” or “I have no control.” Naming the behavior isn’t enough. You need to interrogate the false belief underneath it, and replace that lie with the truth of God’s Word.
Create Liturgies for the New Normal
Once a transition begins, everything from your commute to your sleep schedule may shift. This is your chance to form new rituals before the old ruts harden again. You don’t need to build a monastery. Start with a liturgy of small things—a morning prayer while brushing your teeth, a five-minute gratitude journal after dinner, or scripture on your lock screen. These tiny anchors add up. They’re not about performance; they’re about presence. And presence is where healing starts.
Pray for Resilience, Not Just Relief
It’s tempting to ask God to make the transition easy, but spiritual growth rarely blooms in comfort. Instead of praying away the pain, pray for eyes to see what God is doing in it. Ask for resilience, not just relief. Building resilience starts by shifting how you respond to pressure rather than trying to avoid it altogether. You grow sturdier when you let setbacks teach rather than define you, and that often begins with slowing down enough to reflect before reacting. Cultivating habits like prayer, journaling, or simply asking for help can strengthen your emotional core and remind you that resilience isn’t about going it alone.
Let Repentance Be the Rhythm, Not the Exception
Many Christians treat repentance like a fire alarm—only pulled in emergencies. But what if you made it a daily rhythm instead? Life transitions stir up all kinds of things in your soul. Some you expected. Some you’d rather not see. Instead of hiding from that, let it become your altar. Repent early and often, not with shame, but with expectation. God isn’t surprised by your habits. He’s interested in your willingness to surrender them.
Build Forward with Hope, Not Fear
It's easy to let fear shape your future after a disruptive change. You worry you’ll fall back into old ways or that you’ll fail again. But God didn’t give you a spirit of fear. He gave you a sound mind and a living hope. Replace the inner critic with a chorus of truth. Every time you step into a new behavior—choosing a walk over wine, prayer over panic, service over self—you’re not just building a better life. You’re bearing witness to resurrection power in your own body.
You don’t have to wait until the dust settles to start over. Every major life shift is an altar waiting to be built. Not the kind made of stone, but the kind made of sacrifice, trust, and renewed obedience. Don’t waste the in-between. Let God use it to tear down what never belonged and to build something holy where the old habits once stood. You were never meant to come through unchanged. You were meant to come through reborn.
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Please visit zoe.houston@starterhometour.com for more inspiration.
Thank you Zoe for contributing to Brave Knight Writers.