The one thing that the families and leaders that we minister to need from us is to be more proactive than reactive.

Yesterday I did a post on some thoughts I had from Haggai 1. Throughout this passage God uses the phrase, “Look at what’s happening to you!” and it made me think, “Do we really know what’s happening to us?” So much time in our ministries and personal lives are spent running from one program to the next, putting out one fire and then going to put out two more that started while we were putting out the first one. Sure unexpected stuff comes along and sure we need to be able to think quickly on our feet but we also need to have a plan. Simply being reactive to everything that happens to us is basically giving control of our lives away to other people.

So what does it mean to be more proactive than reactive? Let me explain:

1. It means that you’ll have to actually take some time to figure out what you really want and write down how you’re going to get there. If it’s not down on paper you probably don’t want it bad enough. If you can do it for your groceries, you can do it for your marriage, your health, and your kids too.
2. It means that you’ll actually have to tell your friends so that they’ll keep you accountable to it. Peer pressure may be just the motivator that you need to get started.
3. It means that you’ll have to start asking the hard questions. Is what you’re doing right now REALLY advancing your mission or are you just doing what you’ve always done? You are probably doing too much and need to get rid of some sacred cows in your ministry.
4. It means that you’ll have to leave some things undone at the end of the day. Don’t worry. It’ll still be there in the morning.
5. It means that you’ll tick a lot of people off because you’ll have to tell them no. A lot. There’s not enough time to do everything; just the most important things.
6. It means that you’ll have to stop being afraid of what other people think about you. Have you ever noticed that the people whose opinions you care about aren’t really doing much with their own lives? Why would you let someone like that tell you what to do?

Don’t let fear hijack your life and ministry. There’s a better way to live. It doesn’t mean that you’ll be perfect, but it means that you’ll be closer to the ideal. The kids and families and leaders that we serve need for us to be more proactive than reactive.

–Jeff