Build the Ladder Before You Climb
Whether last year was a good year and you accomplished much, or you feel like you just crawled out of it broken and barely still there, we will use what is good in you, what God has blessed you with, and we will increase and abound…
Begin with what is true
Whether last year was a good year and you accomplished much, or you feel like you just crawled out of it broken and barely still there, we will use what is good in you, what God has blessed you with, and we will increase and abound with it. The second passage that we referenced often last year is Philippians chapter three, verses about twelve through fourteen, where the apostle Paul talked about how he wanted to reach the resurrection of the dead, and he wanted to be a stronger Christian, but he knew he wasn't there yet.
He said, I have not yet attained that level, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
See God more clearly
Now what I have to do is select very specific goals, which if I achieved them by the end of the year, they would prove my point. They would serve as evidence that I really am a better Bible student, that I really have become more financially secure.
Pick a few categories of what a better you looks like, and then decide exactly what specific ladder you need to build to verify it.
Let faith shape the response
So we made a specific ladder building decision that we would have 100 members of the church in our home for dinner that year. Took all year to do, but we built that ladder, and by the end of the year, we were standing on a different platform in terms of relationships and connection, and really it was very rich.
Generically think about a better you in some categories that matter, and then decide what specifically would prove that point.
Live it today
If you figure out how to build those 12 rungs and you put them in one at a time, January, February, March, by the time you get to December, they're all in place and you simply walk to that next level. So what you need to do on those specific goals is decide what they look like if broken down into 12 pieces, and then just focus on accomplishing the first rung, January.
If it's a Bible reading program, you want to read the word all the way through, find a program that's broken into weeks or months, and just focus on making sure that by the end of January you've accomplished that month's reading.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Where does the central idea of “Build the Ladder Before You Climb” show up most clearly in my life right now?
- 02What does this episode call me to believe, stop, start, or handle differently?
- 03What is one specific action I can take today instead of merely agreeing with the idea?
Listen to the original episode
This article was adapted from Building Your Ladders. Continue with the podcast for the original teaching in Kris’s voice.
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