I hear it every day, from people trying to find the their next right step.
“I have too many ideas and not enough time.”
“There are so many things to do, I don’t know which ones to do first.”
“I hear so much conflicting advice and I don’t know what is right for me.”
Those are all symptoms of what I have called the Idea Tornado. The swirl of ideas flying around in your head. You see one whiz by and before you can even reach out to grab it, here comes another one. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
It can be overwhelming and frustrating.
Sometimes its easier to kick some things to the curb and then look at the things that are left to bubble up to the top. So let’s weed out the things we don’t need to do, to make room for the next right step.
Use Your Purpose as a Filter
I love Noah. He really had his organizational act together. In fact, he may have been the very first Project Manager. God gave Noah a very specific assignment and Noah got after it.
So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people … So make yourself an ark of cypress wood.” Gen. 6:13-14 (NIV)
I’m pretty sure if God told me he was going to cause a world-wide catastrophe, I might have a few ideas of my own. But not Noah.
A little side hustle to show others how to build an ark? Nope.
Sell lemonade to those gawking neighbors to fund extra plush furnishings in the ark? No way.
God told him to build an ark, and anything that did not contribute to that purpose went to the bottom of Noah’s list.
Before we can prioritize ideas, we have to know what we are trying to accomplish. So get laser-focused on your purpose and then filter all the ideas through it. Ideas that don’t play a key role in supporting the vision or operation of your ministry or business can be put on the shelf for later, or ditched completely.
Stop Making Decisions
Really? Stop making decisions? Yes. We revisit too many decisions that have already been made. Noah had a blueprint for the ark from God, and he just got busy building it according to that plan. He didn’t question, “Maybe I should add an extra deck at this end … Perhaps we need to use oak instead of cypress wood.” No. Those decisions had already been made and Noah didn’t clutter up his calendar by shopping for oak when cypress wood was just fine.
Can I admit my font obsession to you? I could spend hours surfing through Creative Market, looking at fonts and cool flat lay mockups. But I’ve made some decisions on the look and feel of my site, some standard graphics for post titles, and fonts for Pinterest graphics. They may not be the trendiest, but they are eye-catching enough to draw attention. I don’t need to visit that decision again every time I notice a gorgeous new font.
So if some of those ideas swirling by are things you’ve already decided and have clear direction on, let them fly on by. Stop making decisions you have already made.
Your Biggest Issue is Your Next Right Step
Our biggest issues are often the most difficult to solve. They take our full concentration and prayerful dedication to drive them to completion. But usually we focus on the easy little things, checking quantity off our to-do list instead of quality. Following the shiny object down an alley instead of taking care of the big ugly thing that is blocking us on the highway.
Noah had a mission to build an ark. It was hard work. No one had ever built an ark before. For months and months, Noah was single-mindedly focused on building the ark. Eventually, he would need to worry about little things like how he was going to feed all those animals and how he would keep the lions from eating the antelopes. But before any of that would matter, he had to build an ark.
What is the biggest issue you need to solve? The one thing that is blocking your path and preventing progress? It may seem like there are a lot of them, but if you look closely, you will likely find one thing that everything else hinges on. Work it to completion and don’t change course when you hit the first hurdle. Put all those “little things” ideas to the back of the line until you solve the big ones. Build your ark.
Genesis 6 and 7 says repeatedly that “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” And ultimately, that is how we find our next right step. It’s the thing that God commanded us to do, and if we can focus on that thing … on our ark … all of the other ideas will fall into a nice neat line, each one patiently waiting for its turn at the front of the line.
RESPOND
What is your greatest challenge in deciding on your next right step? Could any of these lessons from Noah help give you clarity?
I’m linking up with Kelly Balarie at #RaRaLinkup, Holley Gerth at #CoffeeForYourHeart Jaime Weibel at #SittingAmongFriends Arabah Joy at #GraceandTruth and Crystal Storms at #IntentionalTuesday
31 thoughts on “Find Your Next Right Step to Build Your Ark”
Leave a Reply to Maribeth Cancel reply
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Love this Christa! As usual, your post spoke directly to my spirit. Saved this one to read over and over:) Blessings!
Awww … you are so sweet, Kristine! You have big things comming up that you need to focus on! Excited for you!
I needed this friend! “Work it to completion and don’t change course when you hit the first hurdle. Put all those “little things” ideas to the back of the line until you solve the big ones. Build your ark.”
My greatest challenge is when I face a hurdle of discouragement…it causes me to freeze and halt my progress. Taking this encouragement from you today! 🙂
Keep moving, Sarah! Discouragement can be a huge roadblock. I bet Noah was discouraged when his neighbors thought he was crazy. BUT “Noah did all the God commanded him to do” and you can too!
Another great post and exactly what I need at this point. Thank you!
You are so welcome, Carlene! Thanks for visiting 🙂
Awesome post! Thanks! Noah had it right–focused! I’m looking forward to getting the toolkit!
Glad it was helpful, Maribeth. Let me know if you need any help with the toolkit. Sometimes just the process of getting all the ideas on paper can be overwhelming.
My main discouragement is thinking and remembering past failures. I have to forget them and move on. Go with the plan God has for me now – don’t worry about the others. Comparing to Noah really brings a different aspect to it. Thank you again Christa for your knowledge and teaching!
You do that so well, Jeanie. You are one of the most positive people I know.
You know I love this post, sweet friend! Thank you as today it was just what I needed to hear! headed off to share it on Twitter 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Kim and for all of your encouragement.
Christa, what a great post! I love the analogy of Noah and the ark…he just did what God asked him to do…and he was forward looking…he could see the vision before he built it. Thank you for his great encouragement! Many blessings to you…May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you indeed. May He do something so big in your life it will be obvious it is from Him. May He increase you influence and opportunities to make a difference for Him. May He give you a continual awareness of His presence and direction as you make decisions. May He protect you and keep you from falling into satan’s traps. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Love this! Especially: stop making decisions you’ve already made. Love your tips and encouragement to stay focused.
Remaking those decisions is such a time and energy waster! Thanks for stopping by, Kathryn!
What great tips! I’ll be back when I have more time to peruse them–right now I’m going to go set my laser focus :).
Good for you, Anita!! Go build your ark!!
I think that sometimes, God hasn’t clearly commanded us to do one task or goal, but He has/is ALWAYS calling us to love and seek Him. So we may not know what job we should choose, or if 2019 is when we should have our first child, or whatever, but we always know that the next right step is to seek God and love and trust Him.
BUT, all that being said, I still agree with you because if you know clearly what God has called you to do, then you should (we should) definitely just go build the dang ark! 😉
Oh Christa, this is so incredibly apt! I’m streamlining everything right now, so I’ll be sure to sign up to your list so I can stop my tornado!
Thanks so much!
So glad you came by, Hollie! We’ll get that tornado under control!
This was such a fun read. I love how you incorporated the story of Noah with us just getting busy and getting our job done. Following our plan and getting to it. Sometimes we like to add our own thoughts to God’s plan and end up in flooded waters. Thanks for sharing with us at Sitting Among Friends. I look forward to seeing you back this week.
Good point, Jaime! Those waters are deep when you get off of God’s plan. Thanks for stopping by and hosting a great linkup!
Christa,
This was super helpful! I find myself making the same decisions over and over. Thanks for sharing this.
Laura
This is fantastic and so relevant! Thank you SO much Christa!
This was so good! I loved the font example about keeping the decisions you’ve already made (although it did make me want to go look at fonts and check out mockups ;). I needed to read this because I feel like I’m checking quantity off my list, and some of the big things I need to do are getting pushed down.
Dear Christa, standing at the crossroads of two good paths. Your message is exactly what I need to hear for clarity. Thanks and blessings for sharing your wisdom and insights.
Great tips Christ as always. Love “finding the one thing that everything else hinges on”, and “Noah did everything as God commanded him.” Seeking Him in that one thing.
Have a great week my friend.
Don’t remake past decisions. Ugh yes. Great words!
The Idea Tornado! I love that phrase and it honestly visits me often. So many great tips here, Christa. I especially appreciate the one to not make decisions I’ve already made. I definitely struggle with decision fatigue. It just wears me out. Thanks for the great advice!
Love your practical posts, Christa! I was reading the book Overwhelmed last night, and much of what you say here matches the messages I read last night. God is probably trying to tell me something 🙂
You are so right, Christa, I need to stop making decisons — once it’s made, it’s done. No need to revisit, rethink and reconsider. Just move on, right?
Thanks for sharing this again, friend. I missed it the first time but this advice is definitely made for me!
Wishing you blessings.