For my birthday, one of my daughters bought me a beautiful planner. I love it because it asks me lots of questions, so I can nail down my goals for each week; it even asks me why I chose those goals. Then, later in the week, it asks me if I met those goals. I love thinking about the future but sometimes I do not know exactly where to start, so this planner makes it simple. And I like simple! And I like getting things done!
My writing friend from church is a good planner. We got together to talk about our writing and I realized how much my lack of a clear goal defined how little I get done. My friend knows exactly what she wants to write and is working on a sequel to a book she hasn’t even published yet. I admire her because she has a plan and is sticking to it:)
That begs the question, do we accomplish things for the Lord? If not, is it because we are not sure what we want to do? What if we had a planner that was just for our spiritual goals? What would those goals look like? Paul suggests this to Timothy…
Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 2 Timothy 2: 3-4 NIV
Don’t you love how Paul says things plainly, so we are clear? Suffering as a soldier of the Lord is a worthy goal. Paul would know! Any goals that really matter are ones that involve doing the will of our Father. Knowing this now, my “spiritual planner” might have questions like this? What does HE want me to do? How can I serve Him with my writing?
What about you? How can YOU serve Him with your talents that I could never begin to do? DO you sing? Draw? Build? Teach? In addition to the verse above, this verse may help us do whatever we do, with the goal of honoring the Lord.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17
So, today’s devotion is just a reminder of sorts. God has a special purpose for us that is not about us. It is above us, more important than us and helps others to know the love of God. We can plan all we want but it is God’s plan that matters most!
With lots of love and prayer,
Christina
Glory in the Morning 