When I pause from life’s busyness, I notice a constant pull to fill the space I’ve intentionally created to be with Jesus. It reminds me of cleaning the house—clearing away the clutter feels good, everything is in order, and suddenly, you can see the top of your dining room table again.

But then entropy sets in. In physics, the second law of thermodynamics describes entropy as the natural tendency toward disorder. Think about how easily the dining room table becomes cluttered again—mail, school projects, shopping bags, and so on. The table is used for so many things that, no matter how often it’s cleared, it eventually reverts to messiness.

And this is the perfect analogy for life. If we never intentionally organize and clear our inner “table,” everything piles on—responsibilities, worries, distractions—until we lose track of what’s there, and it becomes hard to find anything of value, even if we know it’s buried somewhere.

This is why we need spiritual disciplines—to create order amid the natural chaos of life.

• Sabbathis like cleaning and organizing the dining table, setting it in order.
• Solitudeis about maintaining that cleared space, resisting the urge to let life’s clutter flood back in.
• Prayeris the intentional act of deciding what belongs on the table, thoughtfully arranging what truly matters.
• Fastingis giving God His table back, surrendering what we think we need so that He can fill the space with what we truly need.

Just as a clean table invites you to sit, reflect, and enjoy a meal, creating this space in our lives invites us to be present with Jesus.

Seasons remind us that life is dynamic and constantly changing. Yet, it’s often said that people resist change. Could it be because change threatens our sense of control? Control gives us comfort and predictability. When life is predictable, we feel successful—we saw it coming, we planned for it, and it happened just as expected. We convince ourselves: I am in control of my life.

This illusion of control is especially tempting when the news and media constantly bombard us with stories of chaos, uncertainty, and shock—reminding us of how little control we truly have. The more we consume this content, the more fear is stoked within us. And so the cycle continues: fear feeds our craving for control, and we become trapped in a worldview rooted in anxiety and insecurity.

Stop. Consider this: Change is a necessary part of God’s work in forming you into the person He designed you to be.

From Genesis 3, we see the root of this struggle: sin ingrained in us from birth—sin that drives us to seek control, much like Adam and Eve did when they reached for the fruit. They wanted the knowledge of good and evil, to be like God, to control their destiny and decide what was best for their lives. In their grasp for control, they sought to take what belonged to God alone.

But this isn’t about surrendering to a puppet master or following God with blind faith. It’s about allowing the Holy Spirit to shape us from within, transforming us to become more like Jesus and to live as He lived. In surrendering control, we actually find freedom—the freedom to become all that God designed us to be.

In a world that constantly changes, the only unchanging truth is God’s faithfulness. And when we place our trust in Him, we learn to embrace change, not with fear, but with faith, knowing that He is continually working all things for our good and His glory.

This week, I spent time meditating on Romans 7:14-25, and I’m planning to share my reflections next Sunday. To give you a preview, these verses spoke powerfully to me about the inner struggle we all face—the tension between our desire to do good and the ingrained tendency to sin.

This struggle is part of every person’s journey toward meaning and spiritual growth. At Formation Church, we recognize that this journey is not meant to be walked alone. It is deeply interdependent, woven together within a community of faith.

• Spiritual formation of the individual is essential to the spiritual formation of the community.
• The spiritual formation of the community is essential to the spiritual formation of the individual.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 beautifully illustrate this truth:
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body… Even so, the body is not made up of one part but of many.”

We are interconnected, and our growth in Christ is deeply tied to one another. As we each face the inner struggle of living out our faith, we are strengthened by the community that surrounds us.