I was reading Exodus 33:7 this morning and thought about what it means to seek God. 

And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

Exodus 33:7 KJV

We aren’t supposed to look and sound like everyone else.  That means that our daily routines have to stand apart from others in society.

Story Time

I have always loved to seek God’s face.  As a child I grew up with amazing influences.  I was around pastors and evangelists and people who really loved God and showed me what it means to have a relationship with God.  

So as a child the natural inclination is to follow their example.  

Children are supposed to follow the example set before them.  This is also the reason why Jesus said WE are supposed to be as children.  They have faith in every word you say, and attempt to imitate everything they see you do.  So should we have faith and imitate everything our Father GOD does. 

But back to my story.

I would love to take my guitar and write my own worship songs and sing them.  Sometimes I would do this for hours.  No one had to tell me “Go practice your guitar.” because it was something I loved to do. 

In those times with God, He spoke so clearly to me that I KNOW I heard His voice.  

When I became a teenager, there was never really a doubt about the reality of God because I knew Him so well as a child.  

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:7 ESV

This is what I’m talking about. 

This is really the ideal situation for children to grow up in.  If you can get your child to seek God for Himself and spend that time worshiping and studying then as they grow up they won’t depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 says just that). 

Set aside time in your routine

Moses did just that.  He physically removed himself from the surroundings of routine ungodliness and insensitivity (the world and society).

It’s very easy to build a routine that doesn’t include God.  We start out with the right motivation, but the busyness of things starts to eventually steal away our time and can often make it easy to rationalize where we place our time.  

Our verse for the day tells us that “everyone which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle…”.  

I can only speak from personal experience here, but many times when I settled into a routine with God I ended up getting complacent.  

You have to have a set time and place to seek God, but the minute you allow the time to feel like “just another day” is the moment you’ll stop pressing in.

I encourage morning times, but the struggle is ensuring that you aren’t rehearsing all the things you have to do while “studying” the Bible.  

Watch out for Drift!

I’m going to use an example that most people have some experience with. 

Gym Drift

Back in 2020 when all the Covid craziness hit, I had been going to the gym with some friends pretty regularly.  I was doing all the gym things, but I was just kind of going through the motions.  I would go and do the exercises, but I wouldn’t really push myself to really do more and go further. 

This is like the Christian who goes to church and spends time with God but isn’t really pressing into using the Word of God that he knows to help someone else. 

We’ve all been guilty of not looking for people to talk to or actively show the love of God to, and yet faith without works is dead. 

Even though I wasn’t really pressing into my gym workouts I was still making improvements – however small.  Until Covid hit and the gyms shut down and then I did…nothing. 

In this time my spiritual fitness exploded – I started this blog! But my physical fitness started to decline.  The danger was that I didn’t really realize it because it was a gradual decline.

About a year later, I went back to the gym and even the things that I used to easily lift became challenging.  

Gym drift applied to our relationship with God

As my pastor used to say, the only way you can coast is downhill. 

Be very careful, the same thing that I and many others have faced when it comes to physical fitness can also happen spiritually.  Remember how Samson went out to fight the Philistines? He was so dull that the things he used to do kicked his butt! 

The worst part is that we can have the same thing happen spiritually!  Just as Samson was dull of hearing we can be too if we aren’t careful.  

Faith begins by knowing the Word

Go outside society’s routine 

So what’s the solution? 

Moses had a routine of pressing into God.  He went outside society’s camp and their way of doing things and decided to stand out.  

I’m just encouraging you to do the same thing.  Don’t coast in your time with God.

Here are a few takeaways from this post that I want to share with you. 

1. Just because you are present for your morning time doesn’t mean you are “present”…mentally. 
2. Set aside time to seek God – make it routine.
3. Watch out for drifting, always keep pushing!
4. Your routines should look different from society’s

One final piece of advice is to occasionally shake up your routine.

If you normally study your Bible in the kitchen in the morning time, change the place you meet.  If it’s nice outside, go on the back porch.  I don’t know just change your location or something about your routine to remind yourself to be intentional about your time with God.