Successful people have successful habits. Unsuccessful people do not. Ninety percent of successful people set goals, ninety percent of people who failed did not set goals.
Ever wish you could make the sun stand still? Ever heard the phrase, “making up for lost time”?
The preacher in Ecclesiastes said that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. Do you think that is still true for a family living in the future?
Where does the time go?
It just won’t slow down. Even when we sleep the clock is moving. The clock consumes our life. I noticed the other day that we have a clock in every room in our house, even in the bathrooms.
Where are we going to find the time to do all that needs to be done?
More Time
After our sixth child was born I noticed I began to pray Psalm 90:12 more often: “Lord, teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
I realize that families are not neat things. A family has a dynamic all its own. Trying to schedule a family on a daily basis is something of a supernatural experience.
But believe it or not, you can have success at it. As someone once said, it’s not hocus-pocus, it’s all about focus.
Charles Dickens wrote, “I could never have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence. The determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.”
Two key points are mentioned here, “habits” and, “one subject at a time.” Successful habits take time and focus.
Like any other father or husband I want to be a success at what I do. I want my family to be successful at what they do.
I want to hear Jesus say “well done” at the end of my lifetime.
That means allowing God to develop some self-control in my life. Developing self-control is sometimes a painful learning experience but the reward is worth the effort. It is our daily habits that determine how successful our future will be.
Creating Habits
Successful people have successful habits. Unsuccessful people do not. Ninety percent of successful people set goals, ninety percent of people who failed did not set goals.
Goal setting helps us to let go of the UN-necessary stuff in our lives allowing time to do the really important things we should and want to be doing.
Successful habits start with successful thoughts.
I am what I am and I am where I am because of what has gone into my mind. Proverbs tells us that as a man thinks in his heart so is he and to guard our heat with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 23:7; 4:23). I am told to renew my mind with the Word of God so as not to be conformed to this world. (Romans 12:2).
So with that in mind here are some things God says we can do when we are feeling swamped.
What the Word Says:
1. Meditate God’s Word.
Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; 3 John 2. Success and prosperity come from putting God and his word number one our daily habit list. The way to remove fear, doubt and unbelief is meditation on God’s Word.
2. Watch Your Confession.
Psalm 112:1-5; Psalm 119:11 & 105; Proverbs 18:21; Isaiah 55:11. We are either thanking God or we are accusing him. Our words shape our daily life. You can talk your self into a depression if you talk negative long enough. God inhabits our praise not our complaining. We believe most what we hear ourselves say. Say what God says.
3. Redeem the time we have.
Ephesians 5:16. Instead of waiting until everything is perfect make the most of the time we have. Redeeming the time is translated in the Revised Version “Buying up for yourselves the opportunity”. This phrase does not refer to time in general, but to a special point in time, a circumstance, or crisis. It refers to a moment full of possibilities quickly passing by, which we must take make the best of before it has passed away. Sometimes it a moment of time to instruct a child, to pray a prayer of salvation with someone, a business opportunity; sometimes it is an occasion for love; sometimes for patience; sometimes for victory over temptation and sin. Let us redeem it.
Let’s stay out of the swamp!
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Joe McGee, author, national conference speaker, father, and former school administrator, is the founder and director of Joe McGee Ministries, Inc. and Faith For Families Ministries.
Joe presents some of the most entertaining yet practical and insightful teaching on the family available today. Packing more into one sermon than anyone you've ever met, Joe's insights into relationships will open up scriptural secrets and common-sense applications which will powerfully change your marriage, your family and your life. He comes with years of experience and a humorous easy to listen to style that will help families become who God intended them to be.
A husband of more than 30 years and father of six children, Joe, along with his wife, Denise, has invested the past 20 years in family, marriage, and parenting issues.
Joe and his family currently make their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.