My One Word: Narrow the Options

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My One Word: Narrow the Options by Mike Ashcraft (01.13.13)

BOTTOM LINE:

Change is possible. Focus is required.

KEY SCRIPTURE Galatians 3:2-3 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

The concept of My One Word is simple. Lose the long list of resolutions – all your sweeping promises to change – and do something about one thing instead of nothing about everything. Choose just one word that represents what you most hope God will do in you, and focus on it for an entire year. This single act will force clarity and concentrate your efforts. As you focus on your word over an extended period of time, you position yourself for God to form your character at a deep, sustainable level. Growth and change will result. Based on the ratings, it is safe to guess that one of America’s guilty pleasures is wasting time watching Dancing with the Stars. There is something oddly fascinating about borderline celebrities performing completely out of their element. The first few weeks are the most painful to watch as contestants struggle to learn the tango, waltz or salsa. Their movements are stiff and they always seem to be a step behind their partner. Words like “spastic” and “convulsive” could be used to describe what happens once their feet hit the dance floor. Fatigue and frustration set in as they attempt to master something that is so unnatural to them. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the dance floor or in our walk with God. Struggle needs to take place in order to grow and learn. Change will always be met with resistance. Maturity is found in those moments when we embrace discipline and struggle. The truth is, you can’t become like Christ in 3 or 4 easy steps. Our transformation is a process in which struggle is inevitable and resistance is expected. This struggle, this resistance, builds strength, but only when we surrender to God. Change is possible, but focus is required. The reason all of us chose the word that we did is due to the fact that this godly characteristic is not present in how we live our day-today life. It is something that we desperately desire but, for whatever reason, we have not been compelled to effect change in our lives before now. This is where the implementation of disciplines comes into play. Simply put the point of disciplines is to do something you can do in order to do something you can’t do. You establish disciplines until they are dissolved into your character. Change is possible, but focus is required. Your One Word focuses on effort. Instead of trying to do everything, your one word is going to help you narrow your focus so your efforts will be effective. It will be hard. It is not in our nature to embrace struggle. We want hassle free maturity. We don’t do well with

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS discipline. But, when it comes to the condition of your heart, you must embrace it. Your One Word will help focus the necessary effort to embrace the process required in the formation of your heart. Change is possible, but focus is required. The reality is that our normal natural pace of life is not going to push us towards spiritual formation. Hurry is the enemy of spiritual formation and worry is the ammunition of spiritual warfare. Scattered-ness is a result of not paying attention. We naturally pay attention to what is happening to us instead of what is happening in us. This is why we must slow down, walk by faith, and articulate a vision. Change is possible, but focus is required. Your effort is not to change, but to remain in a place where God can change you. The goal is not commitment, but rather dependence. Make no mistake, this exercise will require tenacity. Commitment is required. But, you are not just making promises to yourself that you will be different. Rather, your commitment helps you focus on your dependence on Christ. Change is possible, but focus is required. The challenge is going to be for you to focus on one thing for an extended period of time. You must have an articulated, measurable map to determine how God’s image is being formed and revealed in your life. This will enable you to have some tangible and measurable way in which you are able to depend upon God to work in your life. Change is possible, but focus is required. The heart behind this project is helping you plot a course for growth by narrowing your focus to a single word that will define you in the upcoming year. Now be honest for a moment…does that last sentence intimidate you and leave you feeling defeated already? Do not be overwhelmed and simply give up. It is better to do something about one thing than nothing about everything. Enter My One Word. It’s easy, doable and surprisingly powerful, mainly because it supplies narrowed focus. Change is possible, but focus is required.

NOTES

• Before beginning your time together, have group members share their One Word for 2013 and what God has taught them over the past week through it. Take time to celebrate growth and encourage those who have met resistance. • How do you suffer from this ‘all or nothing’ type mindset when it comes to your walk with Christ? How does this type of thinking set us up for failure and discouragement? What does this say about our understanding of the transformation process? • Change is possible. Focus is required. If someone were to ask what God had taught you in 2012, how would you answer them? What tools do you use to pinpoint where God is moving in your life? • Read Galatians 3:2-3. How does viewing our one word as a lens rather than a promise enable us to live in the tension of how things are and how things really should be? In what way does it provide balance between our effort and God’s work in our life? • When it comes to the transformation process, what do you feel you struggle with more: endurance or being intentional about change? What makes you answer in the way that you do? • Read Hebrews 12:1-3. How are you preparing yourself for the road ahead of you in 2013? Where are you worried that you’ll meet resistance? • Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Discipline is doing what you CAN in order to do what you CAN’T. How does your one world help you set a clear goal(s) for 2013? What discipline(s) will be required for you to continue in the direction of your vision?