Hey! Welcome to this weeks blog. Today we are going to be starting a new series called 'The Reset' which is intended to help us be intentional about everything that we do. I've been really focussing on this concept lately and I want to share some ideas with you that I feel will positively impact your life.
How easy is it to lose focus? I know personally that I can lose focus almost instantly when a distraction pops up, whether that's a notification on my mobile phone, a knock at the door or even a thought popping into my head. So, what is it that we should be focussing on?
We all have a different purpose in life, sometimes in church culture, people refer to it as a 'calling'. But, we all have a collective purpose too and there are a number of commandments in the Bible that we are all accountable to upholding. I find this verse in Matthew particularly useful when considering this:
Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
It's important that in everything we do, we seek first God's will and the building of his kingdom. Much like we looked at in last weeks blog, the word used for 'seek' here, zhtew (dzay-teh'-o) is both in the present tense and active voice, meaning it's a commandment for both the people that Jesus was addressing and us now. No matter what your calling is, seeking God's kingdom first is essential - this isn't just another priority that we should add to our list, but an essential component of living that we should embed into everything we do. Seeking the kingdom of God will never conflict with your calling. Sometimes we become so focussed on the 'doing' that we neglect to ensure that we are doing the right thing.
“What this verse demands is, therefore, a commitment to find and to do the will of God, to ally oneself totally with his purpose. And this commitment must come first.” (France)
To put this verse into a simple paraphrase (taking into account the context of the prior verses) - Seek God's kingdom first and He will take care of your needs. The verses prior to this speak of God's love and how much he cares for the creatures of the earth and provides for them, and how much more that he cares for us. Keep your focus and you will remain on the right path.
How do we know what God wants us to do? The answer to this question is much more simple than we often think, we ask Him. Prayer, word and worship. I've spoken about this before, but immersion in the presence of God and a dedication to fully involving Him in our lives leads to a deeper relationship with Him. The more time you spend with God, through the things mentioned above, the more you will understand His will. Another key part of this is through fellowship, when we come together to seek the Lord then we are able to discern his will through Him speaking through others. We recently had a leaders meeting and while we were praying together God gave me the verse Ezekiel 37:4, I read the verse to the other leaders and another leader spoke up and said that God had given them the song 'Rattle' by Elevation worship, this was a confirmation of the verse that God had given me being right for this time. Others went on to share and we could see a clear thread through all of our experiences with God.
The final thing that I want to talk about this week is the concept of a 'mission statement'. One of the things that I've tried to imbed into my life is the concept of minimalism, trying to make every action I take intentional and purposeful, trying to make every item I own intention and purposeful and trying to take value out in each moment of my life. It's really helped me to declutter my possessions but also to make decisions, improve my productivity and help me focus on what's most important in my life. I was listening to a podcast discussing applying this approach to wellbeing and the guest speaker was a Christian man who said that he has written his own mission statement for his life, with assistance and input from those around him and when he makes decisions he often refers back to his mission statement and if whatever he is doing/choosing doesn't fit into the remit of fulfilling that missions statement then he doesn't do it.
I found this to be a massively useful tool in my life, I've written my own mission statement to help me make decisions myself. One of the key things in doing this is that it should be formed by scripture. The Bible has everything we need to fulfil God's works and we don't need to create anything new, so our mission statements should always point back to scripture. Another key to this is checking your mission statement out with those around you, sometimes we can get it wrong and chase after things that are not meant to us, so it's important to allow others to help you to discern God's will in your life.
The final thing that I want to say on this is that our purpose can change, God uses people in amazing and unexpected ways. The Bible is a great testament to this. So don't be afraid to change your mission statement, it's not something that has to be set in stone and it may change depending on the season you are in.
I hope this weeks blog has been useful to you and I pray that we can all refocus on God's will in each of our lives.
I'd love to hear or discuss with you what you feel God's will for your life is and what your mission statement looks like! Feel free to comment below or you can message us via Facebook, the WiX app or via our contact us page here on the website. Have a blessed week!
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