10 Minutes A Day

One of my all-time favorite movies is "Rudy," based on the true story of a young man whose dream was to play football at Notre Dame.  When he finally decided to make his dream come true, he took the first step:  he got on a bus to South Bend, Indiana.  That was a life-changing decision.  He didn't necessarily know all the steps that would come next, but at least he was heading in the right direction... to Notre Dame!

If you have identified your goal and you need some encouragement to "get on the bus," I recommend that you read the first six chapters of the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament.  Nehemiah was cupbearer to the King of Persia.  God put the plans in Nehemiah's heart to rebuild the wall surrounding Jerusalem.  This was an enormous goal, but with prayer and planning, and then a bold request to his boss, King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah secured the King's permission and support, and he headed to Jerusalem.  Nehemiah shared his plan with the Jewish leaders, who agreed to help him rebuild the wall.  Brick by brick, and with God's protection against the strong opposition of their enemies, Nehemiah and the Jewish people rebuilt the gates and the entire wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem.

My goals cannot be compared to the story of Nehemiah.  However, my "10 minutes a day" approach is a concept similar to building a wall, "brick by brick."  I need to take bite-size steps when moving toward a goal.  If the steps are too big, I am inclined to procrastinate, telling myself that I don't have time today, so maybe I'll get to it tomorrow.  Guess what happens the next day?  I still don't have time!  But, if I plan on just 10 minutes, then I will do it, and chances are, I probably will spend 20 or 30 minutes or more (e.g., exercising).

If you can find 10 minutes in a day, then you can do SOMETHING!  You will exercise on the elliptical, you will clean that closet, and you will write that book!  Little by little, brick by brick, you move in the direction of accomplishing your goal.  Also, if you lapse for a few days, just tell yourself you only need 10 minutes to get started again.  That simple rule makes it easier to resume your plan toward your goal!

Devotion

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.  When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.  Nehemiah 6:15-16

Prayer:

Lord, our dreams may seem impossible in our own minds, but nothing is impossible with you.  Please strengthen our faith to see that our dreams come from you.  We ask for your help to take small steps, just 10 minutes a day, to move toward accomplishing our goals.  We are inspired by Nehemiah, and we, too, pray boldly that you would grant us success!  In Jesus' name, Amen.


© 2016 Linda Lijewski