If you want to successfully be a true follower of Jesus, someone who dedicates their entire life to His purposes, I have found there is only one thing you need to do. To love Him with all your heart and to find success in life requires one simple lifestyle change. The key to successful living then is to consistently decide to do the right thing, to intentionally choose to do that which brings you closer to your goal, not further away. It’s simple, but not easy, to accomplish this in your life. It merely requires discipline and a conscious choice to do so.
Every time you are faced with a decision in life, you must run it through this filter. Is what I’m about to choose to do going to be pleasing to God? Will it glorify Jesus in some way? Will this decision be useful in furthering the mission of Christ? If you can answer yes to any of those questions, then your choice will draw you closer to God’s design for your life. Every decision we make that is consistent with His character refines us and makes us look a little more like Him. The converse is also true. Every choice we make that is against His mission and purpose will distort our image and push us further away from the life He intends us to live.
This principle works in all areas of our lives. Whatever your goals may be, focus on them each day using the same filter. Is what I’m about to do going to push me towards or away from my goal? Practicing laser-like focus on a clearly defined purpose is the quickest way to achieving it. Our problem is that we are easily distracted and more often than not, just too lazy to consistently monitor our decisions. We let life just flow through us and then deal with any catastrophe’s left in its wake. Instead of being intentional about our decisions we live laissez-faire lives and suffer the consequences of a life that is dictated rather than chosen. God gave us the incredible gift of freewill so that we might actively engage with our surroundings and consciously create a life that honors and glorifies Him.
What percentage of your day do you spend living intentionally? How often do you capture the moment at hand, examine it, and then thoughtfully take action based on the decisions that present themselves? Until we are willing to slow down and observe the choices that confront us every day, we will not be able to achieve victory in our lives. As people who desire to be fully committed followers of Christ, our task should be to determine the best way to do that every second we are alive. That is our goal and therefore should be our only focus.
Try this exercise in your life and see if you don’t find amazing results. We haven’t experienced life as God intends it because we have never reached out and grasped it. Our choices determine our outcomes. If we don’t make decisions that bring us closer to the life modeled by Christ, we will never be able to follow Him on the path He walks. The concept is simple and available to anyone. Begin to live an intentional life today. Seize each moment and examine it in light of the will of God. As you develop consistency with this habit, you will experience a joy and fulfillment you had never known possible. The life He created for you lies just ahead.