Breaking Habituation

Not long after I moved to Egypt, someone gave me the best advice. They told me to take as many pictures of things that surprised me because in a few weeks, I would grow accustomed to them. I didn’t believe them honestly, but I followed their advice. I took pictures of boats sailing on the Nile, Bedouins bring their goats into the neighborhood to eat our grass and more.

In psychology, habituation is the term used to describe that situation. It’s where we grow accustomed to our surroundings or situations to the point it no longer bothers us. Examples are when you see someone up north walking around in shorts in cold weather, someone tuning out noisy neighbors, or even a hoarder getting used to their living conditions. After a while, the brain stops responding to the surroundings that we’re once shocking, creating a new normal.

You can see it in the book of Nehemiah. When Nehemiah asked his brother how things were going for those who returned to Jerusalem, he was told that the city walls remained broken down and that the gates were burned. Nehemiah wept for those living there and was then sent by the king to make repairs. When he arrived, he didn’t tell anyone what was on his heart. He again was moved by their situation. I’m sure he was shocked that it didn’t bother them. They had rebuilt the Temple and then began to get into the habit of living without protection. In those times it was disgraceful to live in a city without walls. I’m sure it bothered them at first, but they lacked the energy to rebuild them after they rebuilt the Temple. They became habituated to their living conditions until Nehemiah showed up and changed their perspective.

Nehemiah 2:17 says, “But now I said to them, ‘See what trouble we are in because Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates are destroyed! Let's rebuild the city walls and put an end to our disgrace” (GNT). In that moment their eyes were opened to their condition. They rallied around Nehemiah’s vision and rebuilt the walls. Their condition is no less different than the one many of us are living in. We’ve grown accustomed to sin in our life, the culture around us or the condition of our heart. God wants to open our eyes and reenergize us to repairing the breeches we’ve grown accustomed to. He wants to break the effects of habituation that have stagnated our growth and relationship with Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where your walls are broken down and to reignite your love for the Lord. God is ready to take you into a new season, but you have to be ready to break out of the habituation of the one you’re in.