Study

How To Cultivate A Meaningful Life

Ben Stuart
4 Days

Where Eternity Meets the Mundane

Day 3

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Today is day three. In our last session, we talked about the titles we have under God.

The next step is to look at our tasks underneath our titles. We may notice that some of our titles need more or fewer tasks underneath them to fulfill our created intent. When we do this, we can operate out of priority, not proximity.

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

Mark 1:35-38

Summary

When the things of God play out in your day-to-day life, you are seeing the eternal touch the mundane. That's encouraging!

Most people are like an octopus on roller skates; lots of movement, but at the end of the day, they wonder if any of it was forward. They were busy all day long, but what was the purpose? The meaninglessness becomes hard to handle.

We've been given roles under God and responsibilities within them. We have a mandate to create so life can flourish. Once we know who we are, we can figure out our tasks in those categories. If you can see what your responsibilities are, you can see if you're fulfilling your created intent.

Operate out of priority, not proximity. Most people do whatever is nearby rather than prioritizing. Jesus had many days where He was doing what His responsibility was, but His number one priority was to be with His Father, and He never missed it. The disciples tried to interrupt to get him to keep performing miracles, but Jesus insisted the miracles authenticated His message. So, instead of being sidetracked, He moved to a different town in order to stay on mission. Jesus said "no" all the time. He was willing to divert His time and energy, but He was never willing to abandon His priorities under God.

What's Next?

Write out your titles and tasks. Those are your priorities. When you identify them, you will be able to say no to enticing or exciting things that aren't right. This is what it looks like to be intentional with what the Lord has given you to do. Look back at your list from the previous two days. If so, it might be time to start pruning your task list in order to operate our of priority and not proximity.

  1. Are there things you have allowed to distract you from them?

  2. Have you sacrificed those priorities for the sake of lesser things?

Scripture References

16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
27So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

24Diligent hands will rule,

but laziness ends in forced labor.

35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
36Simon and his companions went to look for him,
37and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38Jesus replied,
“Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
3He did what was right in the eyes of the
Lord
, just as his father David had done.
4He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)
5Hezekiah trusted in the
Lord
, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.
6He held fast to the
Lord
and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the
Lord
had given Moses.
7And the
Lord
was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.