How to Have Simplicity: Biblical Hygge
Hygge (pronounced as “hoo-guh”): Is invoking or fostering a sense of coziness, contentment, and well-being
Simplicity in Hygge is about simplifying the things in your life hindering you from seeing the beauty around you that brings joy and comfort. There are five main parts of Hygge: comfort, togetherness, simplicity, warmth, and presence. The Christian lifestyle should be focused on all of these. So we will cover one of the five parts of Hygge per week for the month of February to learn how these concepts should be found in the lifestyle that a Christian leads. Last week we covered the second part - Togetherness. This week we will be learning about - Simplicity. If this lifestyle is one that you would like to embrace in your life, then continue reading on.
#1. Finding Peace in the Present:
Bible Verse: Matthew 6:25-28 - “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,”
There is peace in Simplicity. Would you say that the world is full of peace and simplicity? No, the world is the most opposite place for a peaceful and simplified lifestyle. The world is full of anxieties and wanting more. But is that the lifestyle that God wants us to have as followers of Him?
God wants us to fully rely on Him. He want our peace and joy to come from Him! But how can we have peace and joy from Him, if we are determined to get that peace and joy from the world. The world will NOT help us find peace in the present. The world wants our brains stuck in the past to bring us anxiety. And the world wants our lives to be thinking in the future to trigger us to keep wanting more. That is the lifestyle that the devil wants us to have. God wants us to want Him. He wants us to live in the present so we can want the peace that only He can give us. Are we choosing the anxieties of the past, and the wants of the future over the peace in God’s presence IN the present? We MUST choose to live in God’s presence right NOW to bring us His peace. The verse above shows us how God will provide for his followers, so we shouldn’t be worrying about the past or the future. In Hygge, simplicity come from living in the moment, and having peace. In the Christian lifestyle, God will give us peace of His promise to provide. That should give us peace in the present to have true simplicity.
Ideas for Finding Peace in the Present:
Try to pray in the present, Praying in the past or future might trigger any anxiety or stress that you have.
Memorize scripture for helping remind you that you can find peace THROUGH Jesus.
Serving others. When we do more for others than ourselves, then we won’t have the time to worry about our own struggles.
Devoting more time to prayer and Bible study, because true peace, happiness, and belonging comes from our overflow of time spent with God.
Listening to hymns instead of the radio, or watching YouTube. What we put into our brains during our time away from the church building will come out through our actions. Are we filling our minds with God or the world. The world will only bring stress NOT peace and fulfillment.
Putting away technology and not listening to the news, for certain periods of time, if it affects your peace in the presen. If something is becoming too much of a focus away from God, then it is pulling you away from Him.
#2. Finding Intentionality:
Bible Verse: Proverbs 16:9 - “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
“What are your plans for ?” This is one of the most used phrased I have heard in the past few weeks. It is a simple conversation starter for learning about what people are planning for their upcoming week, summer, or holidays. Everyone has plans for their day to day schedules. We know what time we wake up, eat lunch, go to work, watch tv, and go to bed. Our lives are in a constant planning state for the days and weeks ahead. Making plans and schedules are a vital part of everyones lives. With how busy the world is going from thing to thing, making plans is very important in getting everything done. Making plans to intentionally get all that we need done is the lifestyle that most lead.
But what are our intentional plans in our ministry and also with our time with God? Do we make plans to daily spend time with God? Are we intentional with putting Him in our lives? But even more so, have we thought about what our goals are for our relationship with God and also our ministry LONG term? Do we have a goal and a vision for where we want to be. Yes, we want to be in Heaven when our time is done, but HOW are we planning on getting there? What does that journey between now and then look like for our lives? The verse above shows us that our hearts, show us what we are really planning for through our actions. What do our plans in our lives NOW tell about our hearts? Do we have plans for our relationship with God? If we don’t have plans for our walks with God, then we won’t know when or if we are getting off the trail. How do we know if we are on that path, if we don’t even know what the path is? We have to be more intentional in our path, to help us simplify the things that are taking us away from that path. Find your path, and remove the things keeping you from YOUR path!
Ideas for Finding Intentionality:
Pray, before reacting. If our lives are intentional, will we show that by not making fast decisions with our words or actions. Will we pray about something before getting angry at someone? We will often have a soften heart after praying.
Start tracking how much time you actual spend with God in study and prayer. Our relationship can’t grow with someone that we don’t spend time with. After tracking your time for a week, everyone will realize that we can do better and be more purposeful with our time.
Write down your “why’s” of why you are following Christ. What are your actual reasons for coming to Him? Is it because of your family, spouse, or parents? We need to evaluate this to see where are hearts are truly at. After you have your “why’s,” you need to write them on a post it note, and display them where you can see them. These are key in reminding yourself on the hard days WHY you are doing this.
Do you have a mission and vision statement for your own walk and ministry with God? If your life doesn’t have a direct path that you want to take, then you can easily find yourself off the path. What is YOUR path? (if you want an example, mine is in the “about the author” section at the bottom of this blog)
Get an accountability partner or group together. There is nothing more powerful than a group of people helping each other stay on their path.
Be intentional with your time with your fellow Christians as well as with your personal time.
#3. Finding Beauty in Simplicity:
Bible Verse: 1 Timothy 6:6-10 - “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
Can we have everything in the world that we want AND have a strong relationship with God? The verse above shows us that we have great gain if we have godliness AND contentment. Does the lifestyle of always wanting more and seeking more in live lead to one of contentment? No, it doesn’t. If we are always keeping busy in the world, and never making plans for our relationship with God, or time for helping others in the church, then we also won’t have godliness. Jesus, when on the earth, showed us through how He lived His live that we need to be seeking a lifestyle that allows for us to have time to spend with our Father. He also showed us that we need to have time for being with our fellow believers, and time for bringing others to Him. Jesus kept his life, belongings, and time simple so He could fill it with the things that truly bring peace. He filled His time with Kingdom work. He had LESS in life, but He had MORE time in life to be with the Lord. That simplified life lead to Him being able to see the beauty in the small things.
Can we truly say if we are honest that a life with plenty, can lead to a life seeing beauty in the simple things through contentment. Our time on earth by design is to be one that leaves us longing for Heaven. We cannot have the comforts of the world AND the comforts of Heaven. The world and Heaven can NOT be experienced together, we are choosing one or the other in life. If our mind is spending all its time working towards the comforts of the world, then we don’t have room in our minds to work towards the comforts of Heaven. Our mind can only be working towards one thing. Which one are we working on?
The verse above shows us how we had nothing when we entered the world, and we will leave with nothing. The whole point of our lives is the end goal, not the in between. Our goal, and path in live is one of getting to Heaven NOT one of having the comforts of the world, and then HOPING for Heaven. Getting to Heaven WILL be work on our end. We will have to simplify our lives to make time for Heaven work. We WILL have to simplify our minds to make time for God. We WILL have to make some sacrifices of comfort during our time on earth, if it gets in the way of staying on our intentional path home to Heaven. The Hygge lifestyle is one of intentionally choosing to live a simplified life and mindset to allow for more comfort. Isn’t that the same for us? It’s us intentionally choosing the choice that allow us to keep on our path, and being able to see God in all things. God is the beauty in the Simplicity.
Ideas for Finding Beauty in Simplicity:
Less equals more. When you have less, you appreciate it more. The more you appreciate something, the more beautiful and useful it is to you.
Think about decluttering. The more we have the more stress and anxiety we carry. Not just physically, but mentally. Are our houses filled with too much? Are our mental houses filled with too much? We can’t let clutter (the things in life taking space without a use) tie us down.
Start a daily Gratitude Journal. Our brains tend to lean more to the negative side of life. But seeing things that we appreciate and are thankful for, will lead to us seeing MORE that we appreciate and are thankful for. It’s a Positive Paradox.
Sit down and list out the triggers in your life that are causing you to not have simplicity. Is it seeing what other people have from scrolling on social media? Is it from pride of what others think about you? Knowing these triggers will help you plot your way through them. Find what is triggering you, and start by eliminating the chance of having those triggers happen. If it’s not getting on social media as much, or not talking about shopping with others. Finding your triggers can be freeing, and help you see more beauty in the simplicity.
Conclusion:
Bible Verse: Philippians 4:12-13 - “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
In the Hygge and Christian lifestyle, simplicity can be obtained by living in the present, being intentional, and finding beauty in the small things. God wants us to be intentional with every second we have. He wants us deepening our own relationship with Him, and then taking that overflow of our faith out into the world, and sharing it with other. Can we have that relationship truly if we are only thinking about the physical things in the world?
In the verse above, we see how Paul was talking about his life. He was reflecting on different points in his life. Where he had much, where he had little, where he was loved, and where he was persecuted. He knew both sides. He then acknowledged that he was nothing even in the moments of plenty without God. Do we have that mindset when we go through moments of plenty. Do we seek God as intensely on the easy days, as we would on the hard days of life? Will we eliminate the physical and mental loads holding us back from intensely seeking God? When we seek God AND make time for His kingdom, we will then start to find the comfort and peace that an intentionally simplified life brings. A simplified lifestyle may need to come from decreasing the load in your mind, or it may need to come from decreasing the physical load of belongings. What things in your life need to be simplified, so that you can seek God more intensely?
Ideas for how to have Simplicity:
Declutter one place in your house per week. Slowly this will start leading towards a simplified home lifestyle.
Start a prayer journal specifically for writing down prayer to God about your mental load. Ask Him to help you simplify those mental blocks in your life.
Start a Gratitude Journal to start retraining your brain to see the positives in your life, this will start to lead towards a more content lifestyle.
Make a list of all of your top stresses in your life, then pray for them, and rip the paper up after you are done, telling yourself that you are giving them to God. The physical action of ripping them up should help you feel like you are letting them go.
Be intentional with your Bible study and prayer. MAKE TIME! You won’t ever have a deep relationship with God if you aren’t trying every single day. Simplify your life (however you need to) to make time and prioritize this!
Give yourself grace. A simplified and content lifestyle will not be had over night. Any BIG changes in life comes from being consistent and having goals.
Make a mission and mission for your ministry and time with God, Give yourself a path that you will make all decisions upon. Then simplify when needed to keep on that path!
About the Author: My name is Katie, and I’m a Church of Christ Preacher’s wife in Kentucky. I am also a proud homeschool mom to two brilliant boys. I love to craft, and make and bind my own notebooks. I also make a weekly podcast show called “Just Bible No Fluff",” where I skip all of fluffy extras and hop right into a short yet impactful exegetical study of the scripture. My mission and vision in life is this: “To empower women Spiritually by enhancing their skills in deep Bible study, equipping them to effectively teach the Gospel to others, and guiding them in cultivating Spiritual growth beyond the Church building.”