The Power of a Focused Life

I have been trying to write this blog for several weeks.  Every time I try to write it, I become distracted by upcoming school work, fatigue, not in the mood to write, errands to run, etc.  I must assume that it will be important or I would not face so many obstacles in writing it.

The Power of a Focused Life

Most Christians desire a more abundant life. Most Christians desire to be in God's will. Most Christians  desire to be growing in their prayer life and knowledge of God's word. So why do so many of us languish in hopeless living? In examining my own life, I see a lack of discipline that keeps me from being all that God created me to be.  I would aspire to write a series of blogs, talking about ways to overcome this apathy or laziness that holds me back.  Hopefully, it will speak to others that are seeking to grow in maturity in Christ. Many of my ideas came from Mike Bickel, head of IHOP. I do not follow him but I read a sermon that he preached on this topic.

First of all, we all need a life's vision. Lewis Carroll wrote about this in Alice in Wonderland:  "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there. "


 From a biblical standpoint:
" Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18 KJV


A vision statement should be a short statement of where you want to go in life. Remember with no vision, then "any road will take you there."  My vision statement includes a statement about growing everyday more intimate with God...every single day. Yesterday does not count.  I can't rest on where I was last week or last month or in back in college. Also, my life's vision is to discover the God's will for my life and try to fulfill that purpose. 


Notice that for me, I am not naming goals. Goals are more specific. These are the things that I will strive for. I have goals for my spiritual life, for my physical health, for my relationships for my finances and for my ministry. We will get to those later. 


But for today, work on your vision statement.  If you are not sure where you want to go in life, try these exercises. 


1)  What would you want people to say about you at the end of your life?  By people, I am referring to God, spouse and/or children, friends, work friends, etc. Take some time to work on each category of people in your life.  It will reveal a lot about the kind of person you wish you were.


2) Write down a list of things that you want to be true about you at age 30? 40? 50? 60?  For example, I want a close friendship with my sons and their wives. I want a pit crew that surrounds me and sharpens me.  These are just ideas.


After you have done these two exercises, try to write a vision statement for your life. Check back tomorrow.  I will publish a blog about setting goals for your life.  


By the way, 99.9% of my readers will think this is a great idea and they will put this off until a better time.  Ten years goes by quickly and you will make a lot of  decisions, good and bad.  I want my decisions to be driven by the direction that I want to be heading in life.  I want to know when to say "no" and when to say "yes."

"Focus predetermines your priorities and prevents you from distractions."