Recently, I had to make a difficult career decision between two very good job opportunities. Regardless of which option I chose there would be a sense of regret over the option not selected. I’ve made my decision and am now second-guessing and struggling to find peace with my choice. A part of me is relieved that the decision has been made as I’ve been in limbo between these two jobs for nearly eight months and I’m ready to move on and dig in to what my future has in store.
Tonight as I went to Calvary Chapel’s Expound service with Pastor Skip Heitzig, the Lord gave me a message I’ve entitled: Leverage Your Life. This sermon is a challenge to me (and to anyone that may hear it in the future) to take inventory of my life to see what things can be trimmed and streamlined in order to maximize my effectiveness for God.
Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
The first thing God challenged me to do was to focus on Him. It is very hard “to run the race set before us” when you aren’t looking at the road in front of you. When I become consumed with my own issues I’m no longer looking to God or His Word as a guide for my life.
Psalm 119:105 reminds us that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”.
It’s not that God doesn’t care about my issues or feelings, it’s that He wants me to deal with them as His Word instructs.
1 Peter 5:7 tells us that we ought to be “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you”.
Now that I’m finally focused on God, it’s time to eliminate distractions. Distractions steal focus from God, requiring me to go back to step one and re-focus. Distractions can be deceptive because they often feel important. In reality we may just need to organize our life better. Terms like “crisis management” and the “tyranny of the urgent” reflect a life that is ruled by chaos. Recently, my wife told me that by simply making the bed in the morning we establish order to our day. On the days I’ve tried this, I can honestly say I am more purposed about the things I do. Creating simple “to do lists” and praying over your day before you rush into it can help you wrangle the busyness that may otherwise overtake you.
Psalm 37:5 reminds us to “commit your way to the Lord; trust also in him, and he will do it.”
The last, like the first, is to simply maintain focus on God. It’s one thing to re-focus our gaze but another thing all together to keep our eyes fixed upon Him.
Proverbs 24:4-6 instructs us to “put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.”
It’s easy to get sloppy and go with the flow around us, especially when it comes to our conversations. It’s natural to want to fit in and without even noticing it we can find ourselves becoming negative and often joining in when others speak sarcastically or even destructively. If we can become more self-aware in how we speak, we will gain the upper hand in controlling the direction of our lives.
James 3:2 says, “for we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”
When the police or SWAT tries to open a locked door to arrest a criminal they wedge their pry bars into a small crevice of the doorframe. In so doing, they establish a leverage point from which they can force the entrance open. Likewise, we can also leverage our lives for God by focusing on the little areas the Father reveals to us that need attention. By attending to these small details we slowly gain a foothold over the areas in which we struggle. As they daily become more manageable, we will eventually overcome them and establish victory after victory.
2 Corinthians 3:18 declares, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
If we truly have our focus on the Lord, than like Moses who saw God’s glory, we too will reflect the glory of the Lord in ever increasing degrees as we leverage our lives for the King.
Now that I’m finally focused on God, it’s time to eliminate distractions. Distractions steal focus from God, requiring me to go back to step one and re-focus. Distractions can be deceptive because they often feel important. In reality we may just need to organize our life better. Terms like “crisis management” and the “tyranny of the urgent” reflect a life that is ruled by chaos. Recently, my wife told me that by simply making the bed in the morning we establish order to our day. On the days I’ve tried this, I can honestly say I am more purposed about the things I do. Creating simple “to do lists” and praying over your day before you rush into it can help you wrangle the busyness that may otherwise overtake you.
Psalm 37:5 reminds us to “commit your way to the Lord; trust also in him, and he will do it.”
The last, like the first, is to simply maintain focus on God. It’s one thing to re-focus our gaze but another thing all together to keep our eyes fixed upon Him.
Proverbs 24:4-6 instructs us to “put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.”
It’s easy to get sloppy and go with the flow around us, especially when it comes to our conversations. It’s natural to want to fit in and without even noticing it we can find ourselves becoming negative and often joining in when others speak sarcastically or even destructively. If we can become more self-aware in how we speak, we will gain the upper hand in controlling the direction of our lives.
James 3:2 says, “for we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”
When the police or SWAT tries to open a locked door to arrest a criminal they wedge their pry bars into a small crevice of the doorframe. In so doing, they establish a leverage point from which they can force the entrance open. Likewise, we can also leverage our lives for God by focusing on the little areas the Father reveals to us that need attention. By attending to these small details we slowly gain a foothold over the areas in which we struggle. As they daily become more manageable, we will eventually overcome them and establish victory after victory.
2 Corinthians 3:18 declares, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
If we truly have our focus on the Lord, than like Moses who saw God’s glory, we too will reflect the glory of the Lord in ever increasing degrees as we leverage our lives for the King.
