“A little less conversation, a little more action, please.” ~Elvis Presley
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ~Walt Disney
“Just do it.” ~Nike
And most importantly:
“What good is it if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Faith without deeds is dead.” ~James 2:14,17,26
Sometimes we are praying about it and talking about it, but we are not DOING anything about it!
Mark Batterson explains it well: “When everything’s said and done, God won’t say, ‘Well said, good and faithful servant.’ He won’t say, ‘Well thought,’ ‘well planned,’ or even ‘well prayed.’ There’s only one commendation He will give: ‘Well DONE, good and faithful servant.’”
So what is it for you? Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you about taking action? Maybe it’s…
- reaching out in your community/an individual on your heart
- sharing Christ
- exercising/taking care of your temple
- studying the Bible
- spending time with God in prayer
- paying off a debt
- writing a book
- going on regular date nights with your spouse
- spending quality one-on-one time with your kiddos
- working on a relationship that needs some TLC
….and the list goes on.
Are you stuck?? I totally get it.
Here are some tried and true steps to turn your good intentions into your ACTUAL life:
1) Write down your goal and post it several places (bathroom mirror, in your car, on the fridge, in your workplace etc.).
Why? Because we get distracted!! And we need to start with putting it in black-and-white right in front of us! I recommend ONE goal at a time. What is God really showing you that needs action NOW? See, if your list of goals is too long, you might just get overwhelmed and kick it all to the curb! But if you act in obedience on ONE, it will affect all the areas of your life for the better…creating a snowball effect.
2) A HUGE key to following through is writing at least 3 action steps under your goal and 3 reasons WHY it’s important to do it! For example, these pics show my action steps and reasons why it is important to go on date nights with my hubby.
3) Put it on the schedule! I use my calendar on my phone with handy dandy alerts. I am telling you friends, if it doesn’t get plugged into my schedule, I will fill that time with other things! I even schedule time to make a schedule! I’ve learned to treat my goal as importantly as a job. AND if your schedule is packed…with no room to spare…for exercising or reading your Bible (for example), then something much less significant HAS TO GO Bye Bye!!
4) Seek an accountability person. It really helps to “report” to someone! And I’ve found that if this dear person is willing to pray for you, it makes all the difference! If God put it on your heart to accomplish a goal, He will help you accomplish it! Often times that includes Him providing you an accountability partner. Iron sharpens iron!
5) Pray for the “want to!” I don’t know about you, but my “want to” gets weak! Listen, we must prepare for the enemy to discourage us and derail us! Here is a great verse from the amplified version to claim and declare, “I have STRENGTH for ALL things in CHRIST who EMPOWERS me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.” Philippians 4:13
And another great verse, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
******AND…He is so encouraging when we act!****** The day I began writing this post, The Lord blessed me in the neatest way: I was attending a volunteer appreciation luncheon at church where I was given a raffle ticket. I actually won a basket of goodies including this “Dream Big” clip board that is now hanging in my kitchen!!
What a confirmation!! God is so good! I encourage you, friends, do not delay any longer!! Whatever God is leading you to DO, take the 1st step today!
I would love to hear your stories of putting your faith into action! Please share your experiences… it truly is an inspiration to hear from you! If this encouraged you and you think anyone else could benefit from it, please share. Don’t forget to subscribe too!! Thank you and God bless!