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What’s your Next Action? – Ep.214
The last show we talked about being too busy. Today I want to confirm that we do all have a lot to do and would like to get the important things, the big rocks we talked about last time, accomplished or at least worked on. When we talked about the putting the big rocks in first, we were primarily thinking about scheduling. It’s a calendar issue. But once you get to that time, what do you do? That is the topic of today’s show.
Several years ago I was introduced to the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. It is a really good and fairly simple system of organization that I would highly recommend if you have a complicated and busy life like I do. But today I am not going to go over the whole system but only one key aspect that may be enough for you to really take hold of your life and make progress in the really important areas.
For everything in life that you intend to work on or make any progress on, you need a Next Action. It seems almost too obvious but how often do you have a project that needs working on that you aren’t really sure how to move forward with? I am really concerned about my and your spiritual life so let’s look at some examples. Many people feel like they don’t know the bible well enough. That actually probably true for all of us! The problem is that many people leave it there.
You might hear things like. “I don’t know my bible as well as I should. I really should study more. “
But then no actually plans are made to study or learn more. There is no clear Next Action, just a vague feeling that things aren’t quite as good as they could be. Sounds like a recipe for guilt without change!
What does a Next Action look like? How do you find one?
Usually a little planning ahead goes a long way. If the project is important to you, and certainly growing in your ability to understand and apply God’s Word to your life should qualify as an important project it is worth some effort. The higher the priority in your life the more worthwhile it is to spend time praying and planning. The first step is usually brainstorming ideas and options.
For growing in your understanding of the bible, what options do you have? Hopefully you are already a regular member of a good church that teaches the bible, if not, please start there! Be aware that the main service times are probably not the only options through the church, many churches have weekly bible studies of various kinds that might be a great fit for you.
A second option might be asking your pastor for a good recommendation. There are video courses online and numerous books on specific topics as well as overviews of the book of the bible. You might get more out of a book or lesson on how to study the bible, then take notes as you read through the New Testament. Lots of options here!
But this is still too vague for a Next Action. If you are serious about it, you have to make some choices. You have to make some decisions. There are lots of things you could do, but what are you going to do?
Once you pick a path forward, write down the steps needed to make it happen. The first one, the one you have to do to get started, is your next action. Want to start by learning more about how to read and study the bible yourself? First step might be to research book options. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart is one I can recommend. If you choose it your Next Action would be to order it!
Break any project into the smallest steps and make sure you always know what the next step is, that is your Next Action. If you keep working on these, over time any project will make forward progress.
I challenged you last show to write down the big categories of life, the things you really care about. If you did that you should also now have some idea of the things in life that are really important to you. If you went the extra step, you also marked out some time on your calendar to devote to that area of your life. If you put down your spiritual life as a major priority, you still have to answer the question, what do I do with the time I have devoted to spiritual growth? This process of determining Next Actions can ensure that you always have something worthwhile that you are working on, something that is moving you forward in your spiritual life.
Prayer life? What can you do, an action, that might help? Pick a better time, use a notebook, study Paul’s prayers. Church life seem stale? What might help? Spend time praying for your church leadership throughout the week, volunteer to serve in a different way, reach out to people around you during the week. There is always something, however small, that you can do that will help you. Pray about it and look for that opportunities to grow in every area of life.
I understand that it is easy to get stuck. Life is busy, we have lots of distractions, it can be hard to know what to do next. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will eventually get somewhere. Keep pursuing righteousness, don’t give up and don’t quit. Keep going forward, one step at a time.