My Devotionals

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6)

I don’t know where the phrase “Let go and let God” came from. But I’ll tell you this for free: It wasn’t from Scripture.

Jesus didn’t “let go and let God.” It’s true that he trusted God for all the results of his goals, saying “The Son can do nothing by himself” (John 5:19). But he also worked crazy hard, saying, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me” (John 9:4).

While culture will urge you to choose between trusting God and working hard, Scripture calls you to combine. It’s not an issue of either-or but both-and, accepting our job while humbly recognizing God’s. Let me put it this way… 

My job is inputs. God’s job is outcomes. 

My job is to plant seeds. God’s job is to produce harvests. 

My job is faithfulness. God’s job is fruitfulness.

And so, theologian J.I. Packer said, “The Christian’s motto should not be ‘Let go and let God’ but ‘Trust God and get going.’”...

[Jesus] called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles. (Luke 6:13)

We often present a vision of Jesus as a divine people pleaser with a Galilean grin and zero boundaries. But that’s not exactly what we see in Scripture. Throughout the Gospels, we consistently see Jesus saying no to good things so that he could say yes to the most essential things on his redemptive quest (see Mark 9:30-31, John 6:26-27, Mark 1:35-38, etc.).

Take Luke 6:12-16 as one example. We know there was a large group of “disciples” following Jesus up to this point. But in the passage above, Jesus said no to the dozens so he could say yes to the dozen and invest maximum time and energy into them.

His example brings us to the fourth principle of this series.

Principle #4: Lighten Your Load — To redeem our goals in the model of our Redeemer, we will lighten our loads by saying no to the good to make room for the best.

Here’s a quick and truly life-changing practice I’ve ad...

Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come.” (John 7:6)

Most people underestimate what they can accomplish in the long term and overestimate what they can do in the short term. 

This “Time Horizon Trap” can lead us to baptize our imaginations and wisely set big, God-glorifying goals for the next few years, but then foolishly apply that same grandiose thinking to the next few months.

Say you’ve set a goal to 10X your business in three years to fund 10 adoptions for your team. Beautiful! But if you’re not careful, your inspiration around it can turn you into a caffeinated octopus.

You hire two new sales reps, work on developing a new product, and start building a new website—all at the same time—ensuring you make “a millimeter of progress in a million different directions,” in the words of Greg McKeown.

Not only is this ineffective, it’s also out of line with Christ’s example. Jesus pursued the biggest long-term goal in history: the redemption of “all things” (Colossians 1:20). B...

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

In 10X Is Easier Than 2X, Dr. Benjamin Hardy makes a compelling case that exponential goals are paradoxically easier to achieve than incremental goals. I’ve certainly found that to be true. But more importantly, I’ve found that bigger goals are more valuable spiritually because they increase my reliance on God and others.

Pastor Paul David Tripp says, “God calls unable people to do important things because ultimately what he’s working on is not your immediate success, but that you would come to know him.”

That’s why exponential goals are so powerful—not primarily because they make us successful but because they make us dependent. They force us to our knees in prayer. And if that’s all a goal does, mission accomplished. Because what we need ...

One of [Jesus’s] disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬)

I spent the first decade of my career trusting Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins while trusting the world for the accomplishment of my goals.

That’s a shame because Jesus is not just Savior and Lord. He’s also the wisest person who ever lived. We’d be foolish and arrogant not to seek wisdom about our goals from Christ first and foremost.

That’s what this series (based on my new book, Redeeming Your Goals) is all about: seven principles from the life of Jesus, each paired with a practice, to help us achieve Christlike goals in Christlike ways.

Let's start here…

Principle #1: Choose Redemptive Quests — To redeem our goals in the model of our Redeemer, we will choose to follow Christ’s quest of redemption: goals pursued with God, like God, and for God.

The Gospels never record the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to set goals, preach, or turn water into wine. The only thing we know they a...