Christmas is over and now we are looking to our next holiday. New Years.
New Year, new me. Time to make some resolutions. How does this usually go though?
We make resolutions that we claim we are going to continue doing from the moment the clock strikes midnight on January 1st. One of the most popular being “I am going to start going to the gym.” Those gym memberships must skyrocket for the first couple of months every year. After working on our resolutions for a couple of days, weeks, or months we slowly fade out until we are back to doing nothing. Why do we put ourselves through this?
We do it because we want to be successful. Being successful, even in small moments, is what motivates us to do more and be more.
How do we continue doing something, such as a resolution, without giving it up? That’s the purpose of today’s blog. Finding out the how-to in this life DIY.
There is an inspiring speech by US Navy Admiral, William McRaven, that is titled If You Want To Change The World, Start Off By Making Your Bed. (Full video is at the end of the post.) He states, “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made. That you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”
I might as well stop writing right here, because he gave you the secret formula. We want to start off big. We want to hit the gym every day and see immediate results. Then when we don’t see the results as soon as we want, it is completely pointless. So we give up. Sound familiar?
If you want to do something great, you have to start small. David didn’t start his journey as a king. He grew up as a shepherd, living a quiet lifestyle. Tending to sheep every day is not exactly exciting compared to ruling a nation. But David had to learn to lead sheep before he could lead people. God knew what he was doing in David’s life. If David had started out as a king history would not have played out the way it did.
We all know how Jesus came into this world. He was born in a lowly manger. From there he was raised by Mary, His mother, and Joseph, a simple carpenter. He did supernatural things, such as healing blinded eyes and raising the dead. That would leave anyone awestruck. Then He went through torture and being crucified. How is that anyone’s goal in life? But that’s where a lot of people bring the focus to a stop on Jesus. That’s not where the story ended though. After three days, He quite literally defied death and rose Himself back to life. It’s one thing to be able to speak life over dry bones and them to come back to life, and a completely different story to bring yourself back to life. Even in the Christian world it is pretty much impossible.
So how could Jesus do that? He did it because He is the great I Am. God didn’t let His purpose come to a close at that cross. The cross was just the beginning.
Just because we cannot see our great futures, does not mean that what we are doing right now does not matter. It is all leading to something bigger than we could dream.
What about someone from our modern time? What is one of the biggest companies today? I would say Apple. Apple started in a small garage in Cupertino, California. I’m sure they didn’t think they would ever be a big corporation. They simply had a dream that they put action to. Big futures start with small steps.
Luke 16:10 is a verse a lot of Christians may automatically think of when talking about the small things. It says, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
Potential and purpose are two different things. Last week I studied and wrote the blog post about purpose. We all need purpose in our lives to succeed. But having potential means having the tools, the ability, to see success. Everyone has potential for something. Whether for good or bad.
When you know what your purpose is, you use your potential to bring you to your future.
As I was looking up the verse in Luke, I came across Zechariah 4:10, which says, “For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel [with] those seven; they [are] the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”
It is easy to become tired of doing little things every day that doesn’t show any results right now. Zechariah says not to despise those days because a greater day is coming.
I started this blog off with “New Year, new me.” Instead of that mentality, I want to think more along the lines of, “New Year, working towards a better me.” It isn’t about arriving at our perfect selves. It is about working towards becoming more than who we are right now. Becoming more like Jesus.
I have a list of ideas for how I will prosper this year. I have the potential, as do you with yours, to see them come to fruition. I have small steps that I will be taking all year long to see it happen.
Just because we had a year filled with bad things in 2020, does not mean 2021 cannot be a great year. Bad things will still happen. That is just part of life. But our focus is not on the bad. It is on our successes throughout the year and on our ultimate success, being with King Jesus for all of eternity. What greater reward could we have!
I am looking forward to hearing of everyone’s accomplishments, big or small, that you have this year.
Comment your goals for the coming year and how you are going to make them happen!
God bless you and have a Happy New Year!
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