Focus Effort
Joining God doesn’t guarantee us success, but...
In The 7 Resolutions Karl writes,
“Our primary aim is joining God, not setting goals. It is to get our life aligned with God’s will. We often think we need to develop grand plans for what we’ll do or achieve. We see influencers around us and measure our worth or our pursuits up against them. Two errors can happen at this juncture: 1. We keep stacking ourselves up against other people and feel like we fail. 2. We resign ourselves that our life won’t count enough, so we leave too many chips on the table. Goal setting has value, but it’s not the most important thing you can do. Knowing your calling and where precisely to focus your effort is far more critical than goal setting. You see this over and over in the Scriptures.”
One of my favorite examples of focusing effort is the life of Moses. Acts teaches us
“he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds." (Acts 7:20-22)
Moses was a gifted man. He was educated. He was accomplished. He was a prince of the most powerful nation of his day. While all of his people lived under the yoke of slavery he had the freedom and capability to do whatever he wanted.
What does Hebrews teach us that he did with these gifts?
“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26)
Moses had the goal of freeing his people from bondage. As a young man he failed. He went from being a prince in a palace to a shepherd in a field. In any worldly sense Moses had made a mistake. But the wisdom of this world is folly with God. (1 Cor. 3:19)
Decades later God gave Moses the opportunity to set his people free and bring them to the promised land. Joining God doesn’t guarantee us success, but it does help us understand what success truly is. Take another look at what Hebrews says about Moses. He isn’t commended for successfully freeing the Israelites, but for joining God and taking risks because he focused effort on what mattered most.
What do you believe God is calling you to focus on?
Shawn
Executive Director, T7R