In my last post I talked about balance and today I want to talk about structure, and the importance of it. As I mentioned in my last post, my writings are taking a slight shift. I want you to begin to see how you can take the things that we learn in the spiritual realm, the talents and gifts that God gives us, and apply them to our natural world. How can we take these things and use what God has given us to be successful in our everyday natural world? Being structured is key to finding and keeping balance in your life. You're working in business, yet you have a call for ministry, like me, and you must balance those two parts of your life. You're called to have your feet in both worlds. Defining a structure will help you to do this and be successful.
In my last post I talked about balance and today I want to talk about structure, and the importance of it. As I mentioned in my last post, my writings are taking a slight shift. I want you to begin to see how you can take the things that we learn in the spiritual realm, the talents and gifts that God gives us, and apply them to our natural world. How can we take these things and use what God has given us to be successful in our everyday natural world?
Being structured is key to finding and keeping balance in your life. You're working in business, yet you have a call for ministry, like me, and you must balance those two parts of your life. You're called to have your feet in both worlds. Defining a structure will help you to do this and be successful.
I work in the construction industry and have for years so I understand structure in the sense of the structure of a building, through that understanding, I can apply the same principles to my life. The structure of a building is vital to that building withstanding the tests of time. It's vital to it still being in existence and suitable for use years down the road. The structure, the framework, of a building, however, is something that you don't really see. It's hidden behind the beauty of the paint and decorations. What many don't usually think about when they enter a building is, without a good structure underneath, the beauty of what you see may not exist years down the road. I've seen poorly constructed buildings whose walls are cracking and floors are warped. Some of this may contribute to the age of the building but most of the time it contributes to the hidden structure that lies behind the flooring and wall finishes. There are certain standards that are applied from one building to the next. Those standards are sometimes adjusted over time to create stronger buildings that last longer. If these standards are applied to every building, you can be guaranteed buildings that hold true through the tests of time.
Setting the Structure of Your Life
What am I getting at? What's the structure of your life look like? You've got to set structure in your life that can be used, day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year. You must set structure in your life that works whether you're working on a task in business or you're working on a task in ministry. I'm not talking about anything complicated even. When you look at the structure of a building, it's actually quite simple, yet every piece and part has a place and a purpose and they all work together. What's your office space look like? I can walk into an office space and tell you immediately how effective and successful you are. Show me your workspace; let me see your desk, allow me to peek at your computer and your email. Being organized, having a clean office, is key to a successful structure, which is key to balance in your life, which is key to feeling accomplished and fulfilled even if you don't complete everything you set out to complete. Now, you may be thinking, "My office is a mess, I don't look organized but I'm successful." That may be very true, but organization will make you even more successful and help you feel balanced. Trust me, my desk, my email, my office gets messy during the chaos, (I like to call it organized chaos), but it doesn't stay that way for long. Putting everything in place and having a place for everything makes you feel accomplished and allows you to have your handle on every task you must complete.
Whether it's business, ministry, or a combination of both, structure is key to balance and success. I have applied many business principles to ministry and ministry principles to business. One very important key to my success, and its part of my structure, is when I make that list of things I need to accomplish that I mentioned in my writing about balance, I take that list and I ask the Lord to guide me through it. I cannot be successful in business, ministry, or life in general without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He's the main carrying beam of my structure, without Him, the entire structure falls apart.
It may not always be fun developing structure in your life, business, and ministry. It may not be what everyone sees, they just see the success, but that success is contributed to the structure that's hidden behind the surface.
If you need help with this area of your life, feel free to reach out to me, I'd love to help. If you go to my website at www.stephensgateministries.com, you will find a tab labeled "Leadership Development." Click on that tab and read about Blueprinting Your Future. If it's a service you may be interested in follow the instructions and I will be in contact.
"Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people." (Proverbs 22:29, NLT) "Observe people who are good at their work — skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don't take a back seat to anyone." (Proverbs 22:29, The Message) I believe that we are called, as followers of Christ, not to take a back seat to anyone but to rise to the top and "serve kings." You may not literally serve a king, but it gives the picture of someone who is of importance. Whether you work in business or ministry, or both, you also need people around you that can help you with your vision.
Procrastination is something that we all deal with from time to time. Some may deal with it more than others. For some it may be almost a way of life where others may only deal with it periodically. Either way, procrastination can hold up our progress and delay success. So, how do we shift from procrastination to acceleration? It starts by understanding the meaning behind these two words as well as the root of what causes procrastination. Once we know that, we can develop a plan for our own lives that moves us from a mode of procrastination to a mode of acceleration.
This writing is a little different than what most of you are used to seeing from me. We are shifting the focus of the ministry slightly and gearing it more towards helping people take the gifts and talents God has given them and applying those to your natural life so that you can be successful. You will see that my writings are going to become more practical, things that you can immediately apply to your life today. It doesn't mean they won't have a prophetic element but that the prophetic element will be displayed through showing you how you can take what you know and be successful in your family, business, career, and all aspects of your personal life.