I’m good at throwing myself challenges, but finishing what I’ve started has always been challenging. Why? There are many pitched balls, but only a few are caught long enough to become my focus!
Age is part of my idea of revamping my future. Maybe it’s restarting what I once had going strong or jump-starting to make quick moves ahead. I’m slower in the physical realm, but Speedy Gonzalez (cartoon days) is my mental focus. My mind is just as sharp as it has ever been. Fading into the future is not my goal. Production is my focus.
I take solace that I’m not a quitter. I just need to narrow my train of thought and do what needs to be done. In doing my priority, I must pass along other tasks for others to handle. Hmmm… Why do I keep surprising myself? Of course, this is what I’m supposed to do!
Before I just act on anything, I think and focus.
Talk over my thoughts and needs with some valuable resources
… friends, mentors, coaches, and family …
maybe even a stranger with words from an Angel.
Make a plan, and move forward.
Every Restart needs tools, purpose, mindset, and something to aim toward. Maybe all I need is a Jump-Start!
What’s Our Focus?
This is crucial to everything we do. Solomon said there was a time for everything, and I think everything has a season. You must know your season and determine what your focus needs to be. Or could be. That’s critical.
With God, you can do anything, but would it not be better to do what He’s trained you for? God called us with certain talents (skills, ministries, callings, etc.). Maybe we should test the waters to find out what our calling focuses on, then prove that one is successful.
As the parable goes, you get more when you do more with what your talent is.
Maybe we know our focus but we need to be reminded of examples where others give us our focus more clearly.
A Few Examples
David was called to be a King, even though he was learning to be a shepherd. Hmmm. Maybe there’s a connection between the two roles? He was also a fighter. Remember Goliath? He was a worshipper, praying person, writer, poet, and dancer in the presence of God, but he also had problems with fleshly temptation. Don’t forget, much of our OT psalm experience comes from a collection that I would like to think David had a hand in selecting.
That gives me pause to think about David’s up-and-down life. How does that Frank Sinatra song go?
I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn, and a king
I’ve been up and down, but I know one thing
Each time I find myself flat on my face
I pick myself up and get back in the race!
That’s Life!
But David knew what the song never tells us: He could do anything as long as God was his helper.
David said, “For by You I can run against a troop, By my God, I can leap over a wall.” (Psalms 18:29, 2 Samuel 22:30 NKJV) When did he say this? Only after the Lord saved him from his enemies.
Remember… It’s not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6)
The Apostle Paul, not to be taken out of context, probably had a one-tract mind. From his early beginnings, he had the ability to excel. When it came time to persecute, no obstacle was insurmountable. But when God got his attention on that dusty road to Damascus, his vision became laser focused.
Later, he writes some words that can be thrown at every challenge we face.
“…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”
(2 Corinthians 10:5, NKJV)
Bring every thought into captivity… What’s your biggest single role in life? Control your thoughts, and you’ll control your life. Keep them under the obedience of Christ, and you will find your greatest success. Hmmm… Maybe this is why David was such a writer and collector of psalms!
How do I know all of this?
Experience, study, time, distance, and following human nature.
Again, the Apostle Paul gives us a favorite bit of instruction. These kinds of words seem to be his singular focus.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
(Romans 8:28, NKJV)
That’s my biggest challenge. I keep challenging myself to Thimk and Do. Keep my focus, do my calling, prove my success, and then build the process again with a new calling.
When Jump Start is Needed to Restart: Bring the thought into captivity. What is our biggest single role in life? As a child of God, I think of life differently than those who are not followers of Christ. But we can all use a jump-start… Click To TweetThimk and Do (Click to Read my thought on Thimk!)