{"id":64081,"date":"2026-04-13T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/?p=64081"},"modified":"2026-04-13T00:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T04:45:06","slug":"old-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/devotionals\/old-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Habits","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEHEMIAH WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have old habits caused you to return to former ways despite witnessing God\u2019s power?\u00a0
Are you working hard in your own strength, while failing to achieve the desired results?\u00a0
What minor adjustments are necessary for success?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 21<\/a>:4-7 (NKJV)
<\/strong>But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples\u00a0did not know that it was Jesus.\u00a0Then\u00a0Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cChildren, have you any food?\u201d<\/em> <\/em><\/strong>They answered Him, \u201cNo.\u201d And He said to them,\u00a0\u201cCast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find\u00a0some.\u201d\u00a0So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore\u00a0that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, \u201cIt is the Lord!\u201d Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on\u00a0his\u00a0outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Old Habits<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A very similar story to the one above is recorded in Luke 5:1-11<\/strong>. At that time (three years earlier), the disciples had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. When they followed the simple advice that Jesus gave them, they brought in a huge catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since that time, they had been walking closely with Jesus as His disciples. Now, it was three years later, and he had been crucified. They did not yet know that He had been raised from the dead, and they had gone back to fishing. Once again, they had toiled hard and caught nothing, and once again, Jesus (without them knowing yet that it was Him) suggested that they make some minor adjustments to their technique, and once again, the result was a huge catch of fish!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems that in spite of all they had witnessed over the past three years, some of the disciples\u2019 old habits had remained the same. We, too, can become set in our ways, doing the same things over and over again and wondering why we aren\u2019t achieving a different set of results for all of our hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders must learn to be flexible and adaptable so that they can thrive in changing circumstances, maintain resilience, inspire innovation, and create successful teams. Just like the fishermen, we may only need to make some minor adjustments, some slight changes to our course or our timing, to achieve the results that we know should be there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seek the wisdom of God and allow him to show you the minor adjustments that are required, so that you can bring in the abundant harvest that is your portion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our God is the God of new things (Isaiah 42:9)<\/strong>, and His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In light of that, here are some points to ponder:<\/p>\n\n\n\n