Have you ever stepped into a new chapter of your life but felt a pull like gravity to regress to your old self when you encounter difficulty? It may feel logical to just go back to what you’re familiar with. You may tell yourself that if I’m going to be unhappy, I might as well do so with something I’m familiar with. It may be in a job or a project or new habit.

Faith says that I may not see things getting better or I cannot see the light but I’m going to press on anyway. I once was undergoing a painful recovery that was lasting for weeks, after a medical procedure. But a friend who visited me regularly told me during one of his visits, and even in a spirited way, to imagine how I’m going to feel after I’ve recovered. I couldn’t imagine this because I couldn’t seem to see past the pain. But it helped to get me orienting my focus to look beyond my circumstance. This enabled me to keep pressing.

You may have made a change in a habit – keep pressing.

You may have made a change in your routine – keep pressing.

You may have made a change in your diet – keep pressing.

You may have made a change in your career – keep pressing.

You may have made a change in your business – keep press.

According to healthline.com, “It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.” Beyond the pain of today there is pleasure in tomorrow.

Let me encourage you to be courageous, just as Paul did for Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7,

For God has not given us a spirt of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.