Focusing EffortSample

MEASURE WHAT MATTERS

Knowing what matters and measuring progress is how anything is built well. This decision is one of the most consequential in the life you’re building as you partner with God. In his bestselling book, Measure What Matters, John Doerr wrote this: “... if we try to focus on everything, we focus on nothing.”

But how do we focus our effort in the direction of things that matter? Is God okay with us focusing our efforts on things we like to do? Where do we go to know God’s will for our life? These are great questions; God’s not afraid of them, and He has answers. God’s will for your life and what really matters is anchored in God’s Word. And when God is aiming your life, there is no more extraordinary life to live.

Proverbs 29:18 is a verse used by many to underscore why we should catch God’s vision for our life. The King James Version is often cited: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” It’s a great verse, but rarely do you hear the rest of it: “But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

God wants you to have a clear vision for your life! God didn’t save your life just to leave you aimless in life. He is passionate about your knowing who you are, where you’re going, and that you’re confident that you’re tracking with His will for you. God’s vision is written down! Tracking with the truth of God’s Word is all the vision you need.

If someone asks my advice about a decision they need to make, I always point them to 1 Thessalonians 4:3a: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” Sanctification simply means to grow in faith, and we rely on God’s grace and power. God wants you to make decisions based on your growth and spiritual trajectory. Knowing God’s will isn’t a game God plays. He’s got a plan, and He wants you to follow it. You never have to settle for too little again. There’s a higher calling than focusing your life on what is popular, accepted, politically correct, or even expected of you.

It’s time for you to execute what matters most in life. Measuring what matters will enable you to build a life that honors God, enjoys Him, and takes hold of His promises. God has uniquely designed you. As you humbly surrender to God, He gives you fresh passion for things that matter and the gifts to pull it off. Agreeing with God to focus your effort around the passion and gifting He’s planted in your soul is tremendous. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how you can discover that.

GET FOCUSED:

• Have you struggled to know what God’s will is for you? How does it feel to know it’s clearly written in God’s Word and isn’t a big mystery you have to solve?
• Pray and ask God for wisdom to make decisions that honor Him and draw you closer to Him.