Is our mission God’s mission? Maybe we should make a list

Is it a to-do list or a checklist? Maybe both. Being more of a big-picture person, I have a to-do list that’s fairly short and broad. In every position of leadership I have ever been given, it has been clear to me the main things I was responsible for and needed to accomplish. My frustration, however, is that I actually can’t accomplish those things by myself.

I can come up with dozens, even hundreds, of strategies to grow the business, solve the problem, and train the people. But in order for those strategies to mean anything, they must be evaluated and implemented. And no one can do it all themselves. It takes a team to accomplish the mission.

Align with the mission

For followers of Christ, it is essential that our activities, our business, our leadership, and our plans all align with the mission we have been given as Christ-followers. God’s mission is redemption and restoration. His mission will be accomplished because God is faithful to do everything he has promised. In fact, he has already implemented his plan, and it is being fulfilled every day. God sent Jesus to die on a cross so that all people and places could be redeemed. And the redeemed people of God are called to join God in spreading the good news and doing the work of restoration through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So the checklist for our kingdom mission has been established. And I suspect you agree that by yourself you cannot accomplish God’s plan. But what we both can do is join Jesus by doing our part. And that usually leads us back to our to-do list for today.

Delight in the Lord

The first 11 verses of Psalm 37 seem somehow like a to-do list.They also make me consider the psalms of David from a different angle. What if David wrote mostly for his own benefit? What if his writings were sometimes his to-do list or the checklist he used to hold himself accountable? What if he wrote to remind himself that to do his job as a shepherd boy, a servant of Saul, and later as king, he could not succeed except by the hand of God? David, like all the biblical writers, had no concept that he was writing what we know as the Bible.

David’s psalms were his expression of worship, his prayer book, and his diary. The psalms are extremely important and helpful to us, but before they were for us, they were David’s expression of faith, hope, and worship in and to God.

Here is David’s to-do list from the day he wrote Psalm 37:

Don’t get anxious about those involved in bad behavior because they will disappear soon.
Trust in the Lord and do good.
Live where you are and be faithful.
Take delight and joy in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord.
Trust God because he will act on your behalf.
Know that God will shine a light on you as you practice righteousness.
Be still and wait on God. Don’t rush into everything on your own.
Don’t get anxious when the bad guys are making money by cheating and lying.
Don’t default to anger because it will turn to violence.
Stop worrying because it isn’t helpful.
Wait on God and he will provide
Delight in the Lord and enjoy his peace.

Order our day

I am not sure it matters whether we use God’s Word to order our day in the morning or as a review of how we lived at the end of the day. Maybe the best practice is to do both. I feel confident the more we allow Scripture to inform our prayers, the more our activities and to-do lists will guide us to accomplish God’s mission. When we are actively seeking to accomplish God’s work, then we will become more aware of how our actions and plans align with God‘s plans. The end result of that alignment brings peace and allows us to enjoy the confidence that God is using us for his purposes.

Lord, we confess that we often disconnect our daily tasks from the mission you have for us. Help us to see that when we stay focused on your mission, you will give us wisdom and guidance so our to-do list is working with you and not against you. Forgive us for all of the worrying we do about things we cannot control. Increase our confidence that you are way ahead of us in providing for our needs. We trust you to guide our actions today so we might rest in you and experience your peace today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭37‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
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