Do You Want the Best Life That God Has For You?

Before I bought my first smartphone, I used to buy paper planners every year. Fourteen years later, I realized that it’s difficult to plan out my life on a tiny screen. So, about a month ago, I bought a beautiful paper planner from Horacio printing. It has helped me to map out my goals and dreams. Do you want to live the best life that God has for you? Pray about it, plan it out, and watch God transform your life. Here are some action steps that you can take.

Know What Your Overall Purpose Is

I want to live my life to love, obey, and serve God. Therefore, everything that I plan for revolves around this overarching purpose.

Write Down All of the Dreams That You Have

This was an odd action step for me. Why? Because I used to think that “dream chasing” was only meant for Disney characters. I used to think that it was pointless to have dreams.

Five years ago, I felt like my life would never change. I felt like I was stuck and that there was no point in hoping for anything different. My life was not bad by any means, but my job felt like a dead end, I was busy all the time with my job and motherhood, and I was lonely because I didn’t have much time to see friends or do what I wanted to do.

I was about seven months pregnant with my second child and walking up and down the stairs of our apartment building—that was my form of exercise when it was cold outside. I cried and prayed, “God, is this really the way that my life is supposed to look? If it is, then help me to be okay with it.” That was a turning point for me. Since then, we have moved twice, we had a third child, I made new friendships, I am better at managing my time so that I can do things that I want to do, and I started a new business. There have been even more changes in 2020! The dreams that I have for my life now are different than the dreams that I had five years ago. I am closer to God now, and I believe that his desires for my life are becoming my own.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 ESV

I want to encourage you to listen to the words in Psalm 37:4. Get close to God. Delight yourself in God, and you will realize that your desires and dreams will start to align with what God has always planned for you. Those are the very best dreams. When you delight yourself in God, the life that God wants for you will become the life that you want for yourself.

So, go ahead and write down all the “unattainable” dreams that you have. Some of these dreams come from God and he can make them a reality.

Know What Your Priorities Are

My planner has a pie chart with six different categories—spiritual, relational, professional, financial, and personal. When you think about your life, how much time and effort are you putting into each category? You could rate this on a scale of zero to ten—a ten means that you are spending an optimal amount of time and effort in that category.

When I did this exercise, I realized that I tend to put a lot of effort into my professional life and a small amount of effort into my relationships. This is not how I want to live! This was an amazing exercise that showed me that I needed to make some major changes.

Set Specific Goals

After you have clarity about your overall purpose, dreams, and priorities, it’s time to come up with specific steps to reach your dreams. First, look at all the dreams that you have for this year and pick out the three that you want the most. Come up with three action steps that will help you to reach each of those three dreams.

After you write down action steps to reach your dreams, write out three more action steps for each of your life categories. For example, for the Spiritual category, I made a goal to tape a Bible verse to my bedroom wall and fridge and switch out the verse after I memorized it. For the Physical category, one of my goals is drink enough water everyday. To do this, I fill up a sport bottle with water. After I have filled up the bottle twice, I know that I have had the minimum amount of water that I need for the day.

I am not a regimented person that is naturally gifted at organization and planning. So, if I can do this, anyone can do it! If you lack clarity about your priorities and goals, think about Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

Continuously pray about your life and seek wisdom from the Bible and other wise people. Still confused? Just get started somewhere. Wise people have told me that it takes faith to take a step. Stay close to God. After you take that step, he will direct your next step.

Stay Focused, Keep Setting Goals, and Hit the Reset Button as Much as You Need To

After you have completed a goal, come up with another goal to replace it. When you get sidetracked, don’t waste time beating yourself up. Hit the “Reset” button right away and start anew. You don’t have to stay stuck for another minute.

Life is short, Friend. If you want your life to look different a year from now or five years from now, don’t make excuses for yourself. Stay close to God and make the most of the gifts that he has entrusted you with.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *