I recently read a great blog post by Michael Hyatt on the problem of drifting away from your life’s focus. It reminded me that not only can we drift away from our life plans–work, family, creative endeavors, for example–we can also drift greatly from God, and quite possibly, the two go hand-in-hand.
What does it look like when we drift from God? Is this perhaps one of the biggest ways or areas we drift from in our lives? Perhaps when we recalibrate ourselves to be in tune with our Savior, then setting our life’s goals and priorities become that much more clear.
Here are three steps to help you refocus your life on God:
1) Assess
Review your current situation and priorities and pray over what you’re doing. Ask God to show you areas to correct, re-prioritize, and refocus. I find journaling through this process quite helpful, because many times you can’t quite see how God has shaped your refocusing over months and years, but when you go back and review the steps you made to focus on God, it’s much easier to see your progress and feel more at peace about changes you’ve made.
2) Listen
Schedule times throughout the day to listen to God and to be open to hearing what he desires for your life. Pray for willingness to change, to be flexible when God wants to shape your priorities, even if it means making drastic moves that seem unreasonable. Sometimes fasting can help clear your head and allow you to better hear God’s call; or perhaps a day alone, like a mini-retreat will help as well.
3) Tweak
Be open to adjusting and making changes in your priorities as needed–all the while praying and asking God to confirm new direction. If things need to be tweaked or changed, try new options out and ask God to help confirm decision he is leading you to make. Often listening to God and just being open to his gentle counsel in our lives is taking the first step to refocusing our lives on God.
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
This is one of my favorite life verses that I often cling to when seeking the Lord’s will in decision making. Recently, my family and I took a Sunday off from going to church and listened to Tim Keller’s excellent sermon on this verse and topic of following God’s plans for your life.
I pray you’re able to listen in to what God has for you on this journey called life.
