KINGDOMablaze

Recently I happened upon a simple process in dealing with “key moments.”  Key moments are those triggering events that demand a response.  It is not necessarily that I did not “know” this, but the  process became radiantly clear and my awareness was heightened.  This process is outlined below …

1. PRAY FIRST. At the point of awareness of a key moment, PRAY FIRST.  This is true whether one judges the key moment as problem or opportunity.  Pray first.  Pray with the person if appropriate, or pause and pray solo.
2. SEEK WISDOM. Before making a decision, SEEK WISDOM.  Talk to someone else.  Share your thinking.  Listen to the Holy Spirit.  Are you missing anything?  Are you projecting anything?  Be open to input.  Seek and you will find clarity.
3. ACT INCREMENTALLY. When ready, then ACT INCREMENTALLY.  Take action in small steps.  One of the benefits of the recent / current economy is that my focus and vision has become more short sighted.  In other words, I have been forced to focus on the next day vs. the next year.  And it has been good.  Take just the next step.  Resist the temptation to plan out the next week / month / year.  And then for the next step / decision /action – repeat this process.

TAKE NOTE!  This process can take as little as a couple of minutes.  Don’t be fooled that this takes too long or you don’t have the time.  Put this process into practice for all of your key moments.  Share with me how it works.  PRAY—SEEK—ACT.

I was reflecting on a verse of Scripture recently and challenged by a speaker I heard this week where he referenced life in the fourth quarter.  He talked about Psalm 90:10 (NIV) which says, “The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

What is so striking to me is that if we have maybe 80 years of life to live on this earth that I will be entering the fourth quarter of mine next year and I am challenged with the idea of what I should I be doing while the clock keeps ticking.  I have been praying about this a lot and have made the decision that I want to go out doing whatever it takes to serve the Lord while enjoying the rest of my journey.  That may mean I must make some changes in my attitude, or my goals, or any of the other comfort zones I have created.  I am not sure how much time you have left – I would encourage you to seek Him to find out if there are any course corrections you should consider before continuing on the path set before you.  I heard the speaker say that he would rather do something great for God and fail then sit back do nothing and succeed.  So, how is your journey so far?  Is there anything you want to do differently with your life to glorify God while you still have the time?

One of the most difficult challenges in business is to be patient and wait—wait on God.  Our default is generally TO DO, to TAKE ACTION.  In fact, much of my work and value as a business coach is to “help people DO what they would not normally DO on their own.”  On top of this, the world values and reinforces ACTION, speed, quick response, instant gratification.  So to wait is counter-intuitive.

God loves to be counter-intuitive and he calls us to sometimes TAKE ACTION and to sometimes WAIT TO MOVE.  The Israelites experienced this very dramatically as they set out for the Promised Land.  God was their guide by means of a cloud.  God’s directions were simple—move with the cloud.  Sometimes the cloud did not move for a day, a week, even a year.  I can imagine the frustration the Israelites felt.  They lost their ability to plan and to be in control.  They had to be tempted, as I often am, to move—to do something—because it feels like it’s time to act.  Waiting feels unproductive.

Today we continue to be challenged in similar ways.  We are not to move unless the Holy Spirit’s “cloud” leads us.  It takes great faith to move only when directed, to surrender our will to God’s will, to trust our actions and plans to Him and not succumb to the pressure to move on our own.

Take a moment and look up.  Are you and your business under God’s cloud right now?  Maybe you have moved when He said to stay put.  If so, take cover.

I came across two verses in the book of Hebrews (NIV) that instructs us to “fix.”  The first one says we are to fix our thoughts on Jesus.  “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” (Heb 3:1)  And, the second one says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2)

One definition of the word fix as a verb says to direct attention, or focus, to concentrate – to focus one’s thoughts.  When I picture someone trying to focus or concentrate on something, I see a person with their eyes closed tightly and their nose a little wrinkled.  This seems like hard work to me.  When I try really hard to focus on something (like Jesus) – I am more aware of other stuff that wants to get through while focusing.  Am I the only one who has to deal with this?  I call that head noise.   This powerful head noise has a way of disrupting our focus (concentration) and more often than not also succeeds in discouraging us.  It makes it hard to  continue concentrating when this happens.

I suggest a substitute word for focus and that is the word fascinate.  Fascinate is also a verb which means … to cause to be interested or curious, to capture the attention or imagination of; to excite the curiosity of; to engage the interest of.  I believe this is a more powerful word than focus because when one becomes fascinated with something or someone, the head noise is stopped before it ever gets started on its path of disruption and discouragement.  I am reminded of little children when they are fascinated with a story on television (or anything for that matter).  Almost everything around them has a way of going on without them ever noticing a thing.  They are oblivious to everything else except that which has captured their attention.  I wonder if that is what the Scripture means when it says we are to “fix our thoughts and eyes” upon Jesus.  What would it mean to us and what would be the impact on our lives if we really became fascinated with Jesus in the same way?