Awakening: Week 3 - What Is Forming You?
What Is Quietly Forming You?
Most of us don’t struggle to describe our lives—we struggle to slow down long enough to reflect on them.
Our days are full. Schedules run. Responsibilities stack up. Notifications never stop. And while nothing may feel obviously broken, life can begin to feel strangely automated. We keep things moving, but rarely stop to ask where they’re actually going.
In Week 3 of our Awakening series, we paused to name something many of us feel but don’t often articulate:
life can be functioning and still be on autopilot.
And when that happens long enough, something subtle begins to shape us—not necessarily our beliefs, but our attention.
The Power of Repeated Rhythms
Scripture reminds us that we are not only shaped by big decisions or defining moments, but by the repeated patterns of everyday life. The habits we return to—often without thinking—slowly form how we see the world, how we respond under pressure, and even how we experience God.
Paul’s words in Romans 12 challenge us not only to resist the obvious pressures of culture, but to pay attention to the quieter patterns that influence us from within. Formation, more often than not, happens through repetition.
The question isn’t if something is forming us.
The real question is what is forming us.
Systems Are Never Neutral
A key idea from this week’s message was the role of systems—not organizational charts or church programs, but repeated patterns that shape behavior over time.
We already live inside systems:
how we start our mornings
how we handle stress
how we consume media
how we rest (or don’t)
how we engage spiritually
These systems don’t just influence us occasionally; they shape us consistently. And because they become familiar, they often become invisible.
But Scripture reminds us that systems are never neutral. They always lead somewhere—either toward greater awareness and presence, or toward distraction and autopilot. Left unexamined, they can end up discipling us without our consent.
God, Order, and Sustained Presence
One of the tensions we explored is the relationship between God’s presence and order. Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly works through rhythm, structure, and shared life—not to control His people, but to sustain what He is doing among them.
From creation itself, God brings form before fullness. From Israel’s worship practices to the life of the early church, moments of awakening are often followed by reordering—realigning life around what God has revealed.
Order, biblically speaking, is not about restriction.
It’s about protection.
Carrying God’s Presence Well
Using the Ark of the Covenant as a biblical picture, we were reminded that God’s presence has always been a gift—but also something meant to be carried with care and attentiveness. When God’s presence was handled casually or placed into systems never designed to carry it, the result wasn’t peace or joy, but instability.
The takeaway isn’t fear—it’s clarity.
God’s presence doesn’t change.
What changes is whether our lives are aligned to sustain it.
Under the new covenant, God’s presence is no longer confined to a place or object. He dwells among His people. Which means the question remains deeply personal and communal: are our rhythms, relationships, and shared practices ordered in a way that makes space for what God is already doing?
The Early Church: Presence + Shared Life
The early church gives us a living example. After the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2, the response wasn’t chaos or control—it was devotion, shared rhythms, and intentional community.
As the church grew, new needs and tensions emerged. In Acts 6, the apostles didn’t respond by abandoning community or doubling down on emotion. They responded with Spirit-led wisdom—sharing responsibility and introducing structure to protect what God was producing.
The result? Continued growth, deepened discipleship, and sustained grace.
Awakening Begins With Awareness
This week’s message wasn’t about fixing everything or rushing into new systems. It was about slowing down long enough to notice.
Awakening doesn’t begin with change.
It begins with awareness.
Before we ask what needs to change, we’re invited to ask better questions:
What is actually forming me right now?
Is this drawing me toward God’s presence—or toward autopilot?
The invitation for this week is simple: pay attention.
Not with judgment. Not with shame. But with honesty.
Because what we don’t pay attention to will continue to shape us—whether we want it to or not.
If you missed Week 3 of Awakening, or want to sit with the full teaching, we encourage you to watch the message and continue the conversation with us.
Awakening isn’t about doing more.
It’s about waking up inside the life we’re already living.