I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Feb 22, 2023

Take a moment and think back over the last six months: How many goals have you set over that time that never moved because you never made a plan?

I told myself that I was gonna grow my hair out a couple years ago (maybe some of you remember my bad hair days in Garden Music videos over COVID). One day I just woke up and decided that I would grow it out, just do it. No thought. Just action. After a month, I realized that my long on top, short on the sides haircut was a terrible place to start a hair growing journey. I found myself a few months later with Flock-of-Seagulls-looking hair on top that fell in my mouth, while my sides were sticking straight out from a lack of weight. It wasn’t a good look, and I gave up as suddenly as I decided to attempt the venture.

Sadly, this is more common than we like to admit. We have a lot of great ideas that remain just that, ideas. They never become habits because we never consciously choose to make the necessary changes and commitments daily to see the growth we want in the future. Like with my hair, you and I make snap decisions with no gameplan and find ourselves burnt out and giving up weeks later.

Today is Ash Wednesday – it marks the first day of Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter that we as Christ-followers celebrate.

Lent is a season where Christians choose to not be passive, but to be passionate about seeking God, remembering His sacrifice, celebrating and worshiping Him for His grace, and looking below the surface level to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus, our Savior.

This means you have 40 days starting now to choose Spiritual Depth, to Go First in your life and decide to be passionate about discovering how passionate Jesus is about you. I wanted to share a few things I’ll be doing over the next 40 days to make sure I have a plan to be present for the work God wants to do in my heart, and hopefully it’s helpful for you.

Take 10 minutes each day to read this piece of scripture, meditate on it, and then say a prayer.

Psalm 51:10-12 says:

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

- Psalm 51:10-12

Read those verses three times slowly, see what God speaks to you. This verse is a reminder that God isn’t just a Father and Friend, He is our Savior, and we are asking Him to restore the joy that comes when we remember God’s sacrifice for us.

Meditate on a word, a phrase, a thought. Maybe today you’ll be fixated on the purity of heart God wants for you. Or maybe the idea of God’s presence sticks out. There isn’t a wrong answer - let the Holy Spirit speak to you in the stillness.

Pray this prayer:

Father, I pray that the cross wouldn’t be a symbol of inspiration in my life, but it would be a reminder of my desperation for you as a Savior. I know that no matter how hard I try, my work can't ever pay the debt I owe because of my sins. But thank You God for the saving work You did through the cross to remind me, Your child, that You would do anything to be with me. Search me now, purify my heart, renew my spirit and show me more of Your presence. May I not go a day without remembering the gift of salvation, and may that memory bring me joy that sustains me.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably found that Lent, Holy Week, or even the week leading up to Christmas, gets overshadowed by the busyness of life and we find ourselves on the day after Easter – or December 26th – wishing we had turned our hearts and ears toward what God was speaking to us and doing in those seasons.