A Spiritual Action Plan for the Week by Bill Piatt

As we face a new week, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, your faith and hope are to be in Jesus Christ. In Him! As a good project for the week, Bill Piatt helps us in the midst of trials, frustrations, and pressures better respond by faith and hope in Jesus. The goal is to rest fully in Jesus Christ and in His grace and power so that one’s faith and hope are in Him in the midst of a topsy-turvy world. A great way to better do that is to create a spiritual action plan for the week as a good reminder.

Action Plan – based upon 1 Peter 1:13-21

When you are frustrated, disappointed, life throws you a curve, or when the bus wheels fall off…

1. Be grateful that through these circumstances, God has your attention.
   Not happy about the circumstance, but grateful in the midst of it that God has your attention. It does not mean jumping up and down and banging a tambourine about the trouble; instead, it recognizes an opportunity to place our focus on God in the midst of the trouble. God never allows us to suffer without purpose or plan, so as we enter into these times, we want to make sure that God has our attention.
2. Thank God for the realities of salvation in the midst of the daily inconveniences as I practice placing my faith and hope in Him.
   Thank God for the provisions He’s made in salvation that I can respond in a way that honors my Savior, although I may not know what that is in the exact moment. Even in the minor inconveniences of life, God is trying to do something in us through the circumstances – which we learn about through all the spiritual realities that are true as one who is in Christ. The minor inconveniences become the best place to practice. Our prayer: “Thank you God for the opportunity to place my faith and hope in Jesus.” Thank God for the opportunities in the smallest of things so that when the larger things happen, your mind automatically goes, “God, I know you are up to something good in my life. Thank you for the opportunity to turn my eyes upon You where I rest fully in You.”
3. Take a moment to consider how to respond to the pressure in light of the provisions God has provided in this moment to honor Him. This, of course, begins with steps one and two where I am grateful that God has my attention and I praise Him for all the provisions that I have in Christ in this moment to respond in a God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered way.

By using these three steps as a spiritual action plan for this week, you should be able to better handle the various pressures that come your way throughout the week. 1) Thank God for the opportunity to focus on Him; 2) Praise God for the provisions that you have in Christ to be able to respond in a Christ-honoring way; 3) Take a moment to consider what that response should be in light of steps one and two.

 

 

Image Credit Brett Jordan