One of the things I appreciated about Andy Stanley’s book Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets: 5 Questions to Help You Determine Your Next Move is the second question, “What story do I want to tell?”

As he points out, all of our decisions do not simply stay decisions. Instead, they one day become stories.

The decision for which high school you went to (maybe not even your decision) became a series of stories in the future.

This idea framed for Katie and me our decision to move from Arizona to Massachusetts. I’ll get to more detail on that in a couple of weeks.

But the story question is the legacy question. It is the moment where we pause to ask, “When this simply becomes a story, what story do I want to tell?”

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you often ask the question about God’s will for your life. And while I don’t think it is as mysterious as we make it out to be, there are some things we can do to help us make decisions each day that lead to a story we want to tell and honor God.

But how do we make sure that our lives are so close to Jesus that when we make decisions, they align with what God has called and created us to be and to do?

Here are some simple ways to begin seeing God speak and move in your life and stop resisting His voice:

6 questions to help you figure out God’s will for your life.
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Here are some questions I came across a few years ago that will help you tell a better story with your life and see what God’s will for your life might be:

1. What are your passions and gifts? At the intersection of these two elements, you’ll find your purpose in life.
2. What would you work on or want to do for free? That is usually a good sign of what God has designed you to do.
3. What energized you when you were a child? Does it still animate you? Knowing your calling is often directly connected to childhood passions and gifts.
4. If you could do anything and take a pay cut, what would that be? Unfortunately, you may have to blow up your financial goals to pursue your true calling.
5. What barriers are preventing you from pursuing your true calling? Can you begin removing those?
6. If you aren’t engaging your gifts and talents where you find yourself now, could you change your current role to engage those better? Don’t rule out the possibility that you are where you need to be.

I’m praying for you this week as you decide to tell a better story. 

How to find what you must do with your life.
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The post The Story of our Lives appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

Meaning.

Purpose.

All of us want our lives to count, but how? Is there a secret formula to it that a few people figure out and others don’t?

The truth is, while all of us want our lives to make an impact, only a few of us actually live lives that we would say make an impact. Instead, we just see people who are at work, in the neighborhood, and at school.

The people who make their lives count don’t focus on money, influence, or power. Athough, those things may come as the person makes an impact. No, the people who make an impact focus on one thing: relationships.

Impact is felt and measured in relationships.

Impact is felt and measured in relationships.
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So, how do we live our lives? How do we schedule our lives so that relationships matter to us, and so that our lives count?

One of the things I’ve seen as I’ve preached through the book of Philippians is that while joy and hope are significant themes in the book, relationships are an enormous part of it as well. Paul talks again and again about his love for the Philippian church. But he also spends a lot of time in chapter two talking about “putting the interests of others first,” and “to not think of yourself, but to think of others.”

Then in verses 19 – 30, he tells us about Timothy and Epaphroditus and how they exhibit these qualities.

They put others first by genuinely caring, putting the things of Jesus first, and being trustworthy (men of character).

As we think about our lives and relationships, there are three important and timely things in our culture.

Do you genuinely care for people? One of the things that Pual tells us about Timothy is that he genuinely cares for others (2:20), not just cares, but genuinely.

Would the people closest to you say you genuinely care for them? Are you showing interest in who they are, their story, what they are walking through, and how they see the world the way they do?

Or, are you only interested in what people can do for you?

We show care by being there for people, listening to them, watching out for them, serving them, and protecting them as the situation calls for it.

Timothy and Epaphroditus put their lives on the line to be with Paul in prison, to be with him in a low point of his life, and to put their lives in danger.

This leads to the next question.

Do you put the things of Jesus first? This is living your life for a different goal.

If you’ve made it this far and want to see your life count through relationships, then you are on your way to living your life for a different set of goals and values.

The values of our culture point to notoriety, importance, influence, money, and power. While none of those things are wrong or sinful, they don’t lead to a lasting impact. Those things make an impact, but not a lasting one.

A simple exercise for this week is to read Matthew 5 – 7, and see where your life lines up with this. Because we aren’t perfect, there should be a part of those passages that do not line up with your life.

Are you trustworthy? Another thing to think about is this: are you a person of character? 

Both Timothy and Epaphroditus were men of character. 

People of character are missing in our culture. 

Men and women who will lead through serving can be trusted. They are the ones who will put others before themselves, and who are the same no matter who is around. 

That is trustworthy. And trustworthiness is built over a lifetime, but can be lost in a moment. 

3 questions to ask yourself so you can make an impact with your life.
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How are you doing?

You probably know already, but if you want to be brave, I’d encourage you to ask these questions of those closest to you and see what blind spots you might have. 

Our world, workplaces, schools, homes, and friendships need people of consequence, people who will make an impact with their lives. We don’t need people who flame out after their 11 minutes of fame, but ones who make real and lasting impact. 

And we long for that as well. 

The post How to Make Your Life Count appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

Most people I meet want to do something significant with their life. They may not say they want to do something big, but they want to live a significant life, that has purpose and meaning.

Sometimes, we wonder if we missed our chance or if it isn’t our time just yet.

But I wonder if we go after significance all wrong.

The people that most would say do something significant, who make it, change the world, what we see is that last moment — the product, the platform, the book, podcast, the company, or church that explodes.

What we don’t see are all the small steps along the way.

Recently I preached on a verse that I’ve read a bunch of times but struck me in a new way.

In Galatians 6:9, Paul says: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

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
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Don’t become weary in doing good? How is that possible? But all of us have grown weary of doing good.

We have become weary staying pure while we wait for a spouse, we have grown weary of being the only one with integrity at work; the only one who tries in the relationship.

Growing weary can mean to give up, to be discouraged, tired, rundown. It is wondering when our hopes and dreams will come true, not always the big ones but even the small ones of being noticed, loved, and cared for.

And when this happens, we lose hope.

We can lose hope when the platform doesn’t grow like we’d hope, when our family isn’t what we dreamed of, when our career doesn’t go as planned or when no one seems to notice us, they don’t see what we’re doing or how much we’re doing.

Some of you are parenting young kids and you wonder if you will ever have a normal life again or be able to go after your dreams that you once had and you need to hear, don’t lose hope. Or you wonder if all that you’re doing for your kids is doing anything and you are weary. Don’t lose hope.

Some of you feel like you are the only one trying in a relationship, you are the one serving, and you need to hear, don’t lose hope, don’t grow weary.

Or you’re tired of having faith because it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. You wonder, when is God going to hear my prayer, when is God going to let me have that breakthrough and be noticed. I’m tired of being in the background. Don’t grow weary. Don’t lose hope.

Why?

At the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up.

Paul says if we don’t grow weary, we reap a harvest. Your harvest might be how you serve, and that sets someone else up for something. The way you help your kids might be what changes the world. The way you serve your spouse, your friends, your boss, or neighbor. You don’t know what God is going to do. Someone might stand on your shoulders or stand on the shoulders of someone you serve and give your all.

Andy Stanley said, “The greatest contribution you make to the kingdom of God might not be something you do but someone you raise.”

The greatest contribution you make to the kingdom of God might not be something you do but someone you raise. -Andy Stanley
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All of us have been impacted by somebody. That person didn’t give up on doing good. The person who impacted them didn’t give up. The point is we never know where our impact and influence will go.

The harvest that I experience in life is because someone along the way didn’t grow weary with me. They didn’t give up on me. Small group leaders, mentors, coaches, parents, teachers, and friends all along the way are part of whatever I do and accomplish.

Too often we underestimate the power of the little things in life and the impact they can make. Yes, big things and audacious goals change the world. But so do small, seemingly insignificant things. A hug, your presence, helping someone move, a listening ear. Don’t underestimate the power of the little things.

Small, seemingly insignificant, things change the world too.
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Here’s one of the biggest temptations I see among Christians. So many people want to do great things for God; we want to change the world. We want to start this or that, have this platform, start this company that will change the world, release a product into the world that changes everything, write a book, have a huge following online, when we are unwilling to do the little everyday things that God has put in front of them because it isn’t big enough.

The other side of this is when we feel like something isn’t big enough, and so we wonder if it is worth doing. Or, as we get older and look at our lives and think, “Have I done anything significant?”

And don’t miss this: the little moment that seems insignificant can become something more significant in the hands of God. Don’t overlook the small things because you don’t know what God is doing.

The little moment that seems insignificant can become something bigger in the hands of God.
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It might be because it is too hard, it might be because it is taking so long.

But don’t grow weary in doing the good right in front of you.

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